The Butterfly Effect
by LaNaniuska
Summary: Other than being alone and living in a world that was falling apart, they didn't have much in common. But when destiny puts them together in situations they have nothing but themselves to pull through, they begin to see that there could be something more to them than just being two survivors.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** : I do not own any of the characters or storylines of The Walking Dead. Whatever you may find in this story is a product of my imagination.

 **Author's note** : This will take place in Season 6 chapter 14, but for the purpose of this story, Daryl, Rosita and Denise didn't came across the Saviors so nobody died or got taken that day. More than that, for this story let's just pretend Dwight and Sherry didn't go back to The Sanctuary and are somewhere around with Daryl's bike and crossbow. That's why it's called The Butterfly Effect, because one little change affected the whole thing and thus no war with The Saviors for now. I'll just have these two take another path, I wouldn't say a happily ever after but at least a different outcome than the one the show gave us. With no Negan they can be more laid back even though not so much, just less angry. But then they may find new challenges down the road that will change all that too, we'll see. Also, I rated this M for later chapters. Other than that I'll just say that English isn't my main language so I apologize if there are mistakes.

 **The Butterfly Effect**

' _Wake up and face your fears'_

With her arms firmly crossed over her chest and her lips set in a pout that could be perceived as petulant, the woman known as Rosita Espinosa looked out through the windshield of the beat up truck she was riding with her two companions, and as her eyes settled to an undefined spot along the scenery, those words kept dancing inside her head.

' _Wake up… and face your fears…'_

For reasons she couldn't quite comprehend, the words kept bouncing inside her skull, repeating themselves over and over again like a broken disc she couldn't stop. It was kind of weird, because of all the things Denise told them back in the tracks, of all the things that had some truth to them, that she was too afraid to face her own shit was the one she wouldn't agree with. That she was alone? Yes. That she was stupid? Most definitely; but afraid… nah, she didn't think so. And yet, those words were the ones that wouldn't go away.

' _Wake up…'_

For the longest time that was all she did, think about what she was told and sit in the middle of Daryl and Denise as they made their way back to Alexandria, bumping shoulders with the two of them as the truck jerked with each change of gear. It was rather annoying, but no one commented on it, in fact the ride was made without any of them exchanging a word. Even Denise who was usually in a chatty mood was contributing to the ongoing silence.

It wasn't until they reached Alexandria and Daryl killed the engine right outside the gates that said silence was broken. It was of course, Denise the one who did it. "Well since you won't say it I'll do it, I'll say this was a productive day. We did good." Instead of making reference of the medicine they brought back she lifted the damn can of Soda she almost died for and flashed an awkward smile. Rosita just stared at her, not even sure if she should reply to that. "Yeah and I'm going now." And without saying no more she climbed out of the truck and headed into the community.

Shaking her head as if to clear it of any kind of thought, Rosita blew out a breath and leaned forward to reach for her backpack. It was resting between her boots and once she reached it, she opened it and took out the bag of booze she found earlier on. "I'll call it productive too."

Daryl, who much like her was still sitting inside the cabin of the truck moved a hand her way to take the bag, but before he could reach it Rosita pulled it back to her chest. "Uh-uh. Finders keeper, I can share though." After saying that she climbed out and walked to the back of the car, her intentions to hop onto the cargo bed and just sit there. She wasn't in the mood of seeing anyone inside and since there was no threat of walkers nearby, she was staying out.

Once settled, she opened the bag and started rummaging. Daryl joined her soon after and without saying anything, he took a bottle of his own. By the time she opened her first one and took a gulp Daryl was already ahead and lighting a cigarette.

Grimacing at the way the fiery liquor burned a path from her throat to her stomach, Rosita looked at the label of what she just tasted. It was rum, and because she wasn't much for drinking straight liquor she shivered. But then without thinking it too much, she took another gulp. This one went down easier.

It didn't take long for her to finish the first small bottle, and even though she could already feel the effects of the alcohol running throughout her entire body she opened a second one and inspected the label. This one was vodka.

"The medicine was a good find." She said absentmindedly, thinking that when Denise first suggested they should go out and find it, she thought it was the worse idea ever. First because she couldn't see the three of them working together and second, because she has been so sure that Daryl was going to say no to the request and she was going to end up babysitting Denise by herself. But now that the mission was accomplished and they managed to get both the medicine and the Doctor back, safe and in one piece, she was glad they did it.

She wouldn't know how to put it into words, but in a way she has been part of something that contributed for a common cause and that made her feel good, it made her feel as if she was doing something that mattered. True, she got her ass chewed by Denise at the end but that didn't matter anymore.

Now, going out the way she did has never crossed her mind before, but now she could see how doing it gave her a purpose, one that couldn't be fulfilled taking shifts, teaching people how to use a machete or just sitting by waiting for time to keep moving forward. No, the more she thought about it the more sure she was that she wasn't made for life in Alexandria, at least not at this point in her life. She didn't want to go on dinners with Spencer and play pretend that they could be something more than a regrettable one night stand and she most definitely wasn't made for turning a blind eye to Sasha and Abraham.

"Yup." That was Daryl's short reply and she didn't try to add more to it. She just sat and drank from the new bottle, each swallow making her think that yes, she should start going on runs. There was so much she could find out there, so much she could do.

"I think I want to stay out here. Go on runs, scavenge… I can even make a map of what's nearby and see how it could benefit us."

"That what you want or is the booze making your head feel funny?" Daryl asked without taking a look at her, he was apparently too busy inspecting his cigarette.

Sending a sideway glance his way, she snorted. She did feel a bit funny but not enough to say she was talking nonsense. Her mind was clear. "That's what I want, I guess. I just know I don't want to be back in." Once that was said, she reached for his cigarette, took it and put it between her lips so she could draw a smoke.

Doing that didn't make her cough like the first time she tried it, but she still didn't like the feeling of it so she quickly gave it back. The whole thing didn't felt right so she washed the taste of it with vodka. "I still don't understand why you guys like that so much."

Shrugging, Daryl took the cigarette back and after a couple of more pulls he threw it away. "Keep mixing your booze like that and you'll regret it in the morning."

As if in defiance, she drank a bit more. Didn't he know that she didn't need alcohol to regret the things she did? Smiling to herself she shook her head no. Of course he didn't know, he didn't know her like at all: she didn't even know him that well either and if it wasn't because Denise thought it was a good idea the two of them should be her chaperones for her little adventure, they wouldn't be out there drinking together.

She couldn't remember the two of them doing anything by themselves before and the brief interactions they had were definitely not enough to consider him more than a travel companion; sure, an important integrant of their group but not someone she was close with. She did like him though, as far as she could tell he was an okay guy even though he came a little bit as an asshole sometimes.

"You know what we should do? We should go out and look for your things. You look weird without your crossbow and let's face it, driving stick isn't your strongest point. You need your bike back."

"Well look at that, you didn't strike me as a happy drunk but here you are." The corners of his lips twisted the slightest bit as he said that and she did nothing but stare; it was the first time she saw him do something like that and she almost did a double take. Did she react like that because she was drunk? Not quite, but she was perhaps a little tipsy and her tongue did feel a little heavy as she talked.

Not that she was going to tell him that she wasn't yet past her drinking comfort zone, experience told her that if a man thought you were drunk you should play along, so in case he tried something he wouldn't count on you being alert. Not that she believed he was going to try something, he didn't seem like that kind of guy but still, there were things that stuck with you even after the world went to shit.

But back to the man sitting by her side, if anything, he seemed more like the mysterious kind of guy, the type one could never figure out and for some reason that made her feel curious. Her mind just began to wonder and probably because her judgement was starting to became a bit impaired she decided that she wanted a sneak peak of what was Daryl Dixon like.

"And what kind of drunk are you?"

"The asshole kind, not quite there yet though."

Rosita looked down at the empty bottles by his side. There were three and then there was the one in his hand; she was still on her number two so he definitely held his drinking better than her. "Rumor has it you are an asshole when sober, you can't be the same when both drunk and sober."

Shrugging, he tilted his face towards her and their eyes met. From up close and with the sun still shining bright, she could see that his eyes were a pretty shade of blue and for some reason that took her aback. She hadn't noticed those eyes until that moment and she was going to assume that it was because she hasn't been so close to him before, at least not looking directly to his face. Whenever they were in the same place at the same time it was always from certain distance and well, it was hard to see his face from afar when it was always hidden behind his hair; but from up close, it was hard not to get entranced by his stare. "From what I've heard you ain't no ray of light either."

Dragged back to reality, she arched an eyebrow and nodded her appreciation to that comeback. "Touché, I'll drink to that." Finishing the vodka and reaching for another small bottle, she went on. "But still, I don't know if I'm ready to see you turn into a full asshole drunk. It will take momentum from my place as a happy drunk and I'm not ready."

"You won't, ain't even halfway there." But even as he said that, he took another bottle and gulped it down. He did it without flinching, but when he made no attempt of grabbing more alcohol she knew that he was done for the day. "You know, I do want my shit back and a one on one with the asshole who took it, but that track is long cold. He has my bike and advantage so for all I know he's all the way to New York right now."

"We can make it as far as Canada if we want to." And wouldn't that be something?

"Never been to New York. Place must be full of walkers now."

Clearing her throat, she moved her head away and settled her eyes up to the skies. Being out there doing anything sounded better than whatever she could do in Alexandria. As for going with Daryl… well they did good earlier that day so they could become a good team. Maybe she could even snatch him from Aaron so they could do their own runs. She knew they would probably not make it as far as New York, not with the roads blocked and infested with walkers, but they could be out and about looking for things.

He definitely knew how to handle himself out there and since she wasn't so bad herself, they could do whatever they wanted to. Maybe by the time they came back Abraham and Sasha were over and she wouldn't have to see them doing pretty eyes at each other all the time.

"I think we should do it now. We should go and just do it. Go as far as we can go, maybe we'll get lucky and find your things." Yes, she wanted to leave now, that way she wouldn't have to face Spencer either and well… maybe after all she was afraid to face her own shit like Denise said. Who would have known?

"Right now?"

"You got anything better to do?" Her face turned back towards his and for some reason she smiled.

He didn't return the smile but as if considering it, he chewed on the inside of his lips. "Ain't got shit to do. Let me go get a couple of things." Jumping out and getting down to the ground, he walked to the gate and made it inside.

It took Rosita more than normal to get out of the back of the truck to climb into the cabin and she started to wonder if she was drunk and in denial. She probably was, Daryl too because otherwise they wouldn't even consider what they were about to do. But because she didn't want to waste time thinking she hurried as much as she could.

As for getting a few things of her own? In her wobbly legs she knew she wouldn't make it inside without making a show so she would have to do with what she brought for the initial run. She could do okay with it, she has packed the essentials to be out for at least a couple of days and she was going to trust Daryl to get them some provisions. Whatever she could need later on would have to be found on the road.

Daryl didn't take too long to come back and she didn't even check what he got, but when he threw her way a bag of pretzels snacks and a bottle of water she reached for them.

"If we gonna do this you gotta eat that. Can't have you shit-faced, it makes you slow and stupid and ain't having that."

Rolling her eyes, she glanced at him as he started the car. "Don't be an asshole, I'm fine.'

"Eat it." He said almost in a growl, then in a matter of nothing they were driving away.

For a while they rode it in silence, she eating in small bites and sipping water while he focused on the road ahead, but when she noticed that the truck no longer jerked whenever he changed gears she snickered. "So all you needed to drive this thing right was a little of alcohol in your system."

"Shut up." There was no harshness on his tone and because he used his free hand to reach for a couple of salty pretzels, she was going to say none was intended.

Humming, she slid closer to the window and rolled it down, letting the breeze swept around her and her face almost out. She wasn't sure for how long she just did that, but she did know that by the time dusk started to creep in, she was starting to need a bathroom break.

"So that old boyfriend of yours the reason you don't want back in Alexandria?"

Turning to him, she saw that he was looking at her curiously. It was for a few seconds only, then he was back at paying attention to the road ahead.

Now she wasn't going to lie, the question caught her by surprise and she didn't know what to answer as she didn't even know herself.

"Is that what you think?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked."

Pursing her lips, she crossed her arms to her chest. "I know everybody thinks I'm salty because he dumped me for Sasha… maybe I am, but not because I wanted to keep him. Abraham is an asshole and I guess we were not going to last long anyway."

And they weren't, their fallout started way before Sasha and they just stuck together anyway. Maybe it was a way to combat loneliness or whatever, but it wasn't because they were head over heels for each other. Yes, she has loved him in a way and she still cared for him, but that didn't take from the fact that she knew they were domed almost from the beginning.

"I think it's more like my ego is bruised. I mean nobody wants the person you are in a relationship with tell you he only got with you because there was nobody else available."

"Shut up, he told you that?"

Wondering why she was telling him all that, she licked her lips. They were not even friends and in the first and longest conversation they ever had she was already telling him things she has told nobody else. But it was what it was and be it because of the alcohol or because she needed some kind of closure, she went on.

"Yes he did." Sure, those weren't exactly the words he used but it was what he meant.

"Ain't that a bitch."

"It doesn't matter now. I'm done with love and hooking up and all that shit. Got more important things to worry about... like not turning into a walker." Let Sasha keep Abraham, let her realize on her own how much of an asshole he really was. As for her ridiculous fling with Spencer, she wouldn't even worry about that anymore.

"You know what the problem is with you guys, all of you? You wanna shit were you eat and then when things go south you make a fuss of it."

Allowing her eyes to scan his face, she bit down on her lips. He was focused on driving, but every once in a while he would turn to her and their eyes would met. "Well Daryl, there are not many places to eat these days so what else is there to do?"

He said nothing to that, but his eyes lingered longer this time before returning where they were supposed to be.

"So I'll take you don't want to bother with cutesy little things like dating and all that."

"Nah, I'll leave that mess to you, ain't got no time for that kind of drama.'

"Yeah, as it turns out me neither." Shifting on her seat, she turned back to the window and peered outside. By now Daryl was slowing down because the road was thinning out. Cars were in the way, left in the middle and where there were so many vehicles there were always walkers. " I need to go to the bathroom."

"Yup, it's getting kind of late, we should probably find somewhere to stay the night." Throwing his arm back and letting it rest along the back of the seat, he turned so he could take a look behind. While doing so his face was directly pointing towards hers and as he put the car on reverse, Rosita just watched him.

Daryl, truth was that she has never put much attention to him, at least not in a way that she could really appreciate him. But now that her mind was not in the right place, she decided that in another time he would definitely be someone she wouldn't mind hooking up with. He didn't look half bad, he had pretty eyes, nice lips and when he wasn't an asshole he wasn't that awful to be around.

But because she was done with the opposite sex for now, she shrugged it off, took off her gloves and just started looking into her bag to find what she needed to empty her bladder. It wasn't much, she just got paper and sanitizer and when Daryl finally parked in a place that felt safe enough, she rushed to find somewhere private to relieve herself. Daryl went too, only that he did it a couple of feet from the truck and that was it.

It was the luck of being a man.

Once finished, she walked back. By then the effects of the alcohol were not as strong as they were back when they were parked in front of Alexandria so there was no problem with her legs. She did however feel a little light headed and not fully on her element so she decided not to push it.

"Come on." Daryl motioned her to follow him once she made it to him and taking her backpack and grabbing for her machete, she did.

They only encountered a handful of walkers on their way, nothing they couldn't handle even while slightly drunk, and when they found a good enough place to hang their boots for the night they cleared it too.

It was a two story house, small but comfortable enough under the circumstances. It even had an attic, and standing right underneath the open hatch that lead towards it she wondered why there was no ladder.

"Do you think there could be something up there worth checking?"

Squinting his eyes, Daryl stood in front of her and looked up. "A little storage maybe. Could be the walkers we cleared fell from there."

"Help me up." She said, decided to go and check. Wasn't that the point of their little trip, to find things to take back to Alexandria? Maybe the people who lived in the house stocked up the attic, maybe there was nothing but it wouldn't hurt to check.

Daryl hummed as if considering it, then he bent down a little and motioned her to use his thigh as a level. "If you die up there it will be on you."

"Yeah yeah." Stepping on his tight and getting impulse, she reached for the entrance. He had to help her get there as she struggled a little to get in, but once up she just had to smile. "Well… not bad. There are a few things we could use."

And there were, it wasn't like a huge find but it was a decent one. A few boxes of canned meat, some MRE's, water, a first aid kit, candles, blankets… there was a even cash. That last one she didn't even touch, but the rest she handed it down to Daryl.

When it was time for her to get down she looked through the hatch and snorted. "Okay…" Now, it wasn't like it was a huge drop but let's face it, she was in no condition of making the jump without hurting herself.

"Come on, I gotcha."

"Okay." Sitting down and letting her legs hang loose, she started to ease her way down, she did it carefully but when she felt him grab her legs and then her thighs, she got too confident and basically let herself drop.

"Wait."

The motion made her gasp and as a way to get a grip, she grabbed his shoulders, but much as he said, he got her. Then, once it was certain she wasn't going to fall over he let her slip all the way to the floor. In the process of putting her down, his arm remained on her and as she slowly slid against his body he ended up circling her waist and holding her close.

Rosita lifted her gaze up, her eyes glued to his as he stared back at her. Yes, she was definitely still drunk, she knew because she couldn't take her eyes away from his and as he held her to him she couldn't help but to feel a tingling sensation forming in the pit of her stomach.

It was weird… having him press against her with one arm stubbornly wrapped around her waist as her hands remained over his shoulders…

Add to that the alcohol in her system and voila, catastrophe presented itself in the form of a kiss.

She didn't know who started it, in her state it wouldn't surprise her if it was her but it could have been him all the same; the only thing that she knew for sure was that now her lips were lightly brushing against his.

It was crazy, for a few seconds time stood still and even though they were not taking things any further, her heart was pounding very hard inside her chest and her head was clouded, she didn't even know what she was doing. But then, as quickly as it began Daryl pulled away as if her lips were burning his. He even took a few steps back away from her.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?"

On her part, Rosita lifted a hand up in the air and pressed her fingers to her temples, the implications of the situation finally registering in her brain. She just kissed Daryl. It has been her and she didn't even know why!

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking." She said, clearing her throat and closing her eyes. "I'm fucking drunk."

"Well you better sleep that off before you keep doing stupid shit. I'll take first watch." And with that said he left, leaving her behind and wondering how bad she screwed up.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I have to apologize for my Daryl muse as he can be a bit of as asshole. Also, I wanted to make this chapter longer but at the same time I want to build something for later. Other than that, I'll just say thanks for reading!

The _Butterfly_ Effect

Rosita has been submerged into a deep slumber when the sound startled her. It was a loud clinging noise that oddly resembled two tin cans banging together and because her brain hadn't gone through the process of waking up yet, the surprise of it made her jump involuntarily. That was how before she could even open her eyes her hand darted forward automatically, reaching for a gun in a night table that wasn't even there.

"Wake the hell up, we leaving."

Recognizing the voice and remembering where she was, she immediately knew that she wasn't in any danger of an attack, not from the living or the dead so she sighed in relief. By then she had already blinked her eyes open so that she could scan her surroundings, the warm chocolate orbs that were her eyes trying to focus in the poor lighted room she was in. Her vision was blurry and fuzzy and as she stared through heavy eyelids at the silhouette of the man who just woke her walking out, the notion came to her that her head was throbbing.

Yes, she had one hell of a headache, or more like a feeling that there was someone playing a slow but steady drum melody inside her head. At the moment it felt bad, but having been in that situation a few times before she knew that it was nothing that some aspirin and a huge mug of coffee couldn't handle.

Now, if she only had some aspirin or coffee, everything would be fine…

Laying her head back down and mumbling a few incoherencies in Spanish, she closed her eyes and dragged the thin blanket she has been using for cover over her head, drowning out of her sight everything but pure darkness. It felt better that way, underneath the old fabric she found some kind of comfort and because of that she decided that she didn't want to get out of the old mattress sprawled on the floor she has used as a bed; no, if it was up to her she would just lay there all day to suffer not only from her hangover, but also from the repercussions of her actions the previous night.

It was like this, even after a full night's rest, the memory of the way she kissed Daryl out of the blue and his reaction to it was so bad that she had to groan.

"You're so, so stupid." She hissed, her eyes still closed and the notion that she went to sleep with her boots on kind of bothering her. Actually she has gone to sleep the same way she woke up, face down, jacket on, pants on and a deep sense of shame eating her entrails.

Not that she should feel that way. What she did has been nothing but a drunk stupid mistake, not the first one she ever did and probably nor will it be the last; besides in the almost three decades of her life she has done way worse than the little chaste kiss she gave Daryl and somehow she knew she hadn't done the worse she could do yet. So yes, regrets she had many, but maybe what was bothering her was that never before had she felt such embarrassment… but that was a tale for another moment, her head hurt too bad to start wondering why was that.

As for now yeah, she kissed him and so what? It happened, he made it clear that it wasn't something he wanted and well, she wasn't even sure if she has wanted it but either way now that it was out of the way it was time to move on; and in case the subject was ever approached she was just going to remind him that she has been drunk and in her book, that gave her full absolution.

It was on him if he was going to let it be a problem, all she knew was that least she wasn't going to drown in a glass of water.

With that in mind she forced herself up to her feet and wanting to walk out the stiffness of her whole body, she headed the same way Daryl went out. She caught up to him downstairs by a huge kitchen table, sorting out the things she found in the attic. He seemed way to engrossed with that and even when she cleared her throat he didn't look her way.

Rubbing her eyes, she took a look around and noticed that a few rays of lights were coming throw the windows so she was going to assume that a new day had approached. That right there made her realize that she wasn't supposed to sleep that long and that she did made her feel guilty.

"You didn't wake me up to take over your watch." She said, her voice hoarse and her mouth dry. It felt like a whole bucket of sand went down her throat and now it was a drag to swallow. She had to clear her throat again and taking the remaining steps to approach the table she grabbed a bottle of water from one of the boxes he was inspecting.

Drinking from it, she noticed his lack of response and immediately knew that he was ignoring her, thing that almost made her snort. She also noticed that he looked freshen up, even his hair looked damp and clean and her eyes moved around, looking for the bathroom. "Is there running water here?"

"Mm-hmm"

"Okay." Not wanting to let his cold demeanor bother her, she swirled on her heels and started to look for the bathroom. She found it near the stairs so grabbing for her things she went in and hoped that a quick shower would help her ease her discomforts. It did, the cold water did wonders and once she was done she felt somehow better.

The throb in her head was still there and the light in her eyes was annoying, but those discomforts were bound to leave sooner rather than later so she sucked it up and got ready for a day she knew wasn't going to be easy.

Once she was done, she found Daryl outside, putting the boxes in the car. He put them conveniently right in the middle of the seat and she wondered if he did it to mark a separation between them. It would be ridiculous if he did it because of that, as if she was going to jump him or something.

And to think that not even a full day has gone by since they were drinking and even engaging into a somewhat amicable conversation.

Rolling her eyes and then blowing out a breath, she put her things into the cabin and climbed in. No word was exchanged during the whole thing and when he was finally done putting everything inside and started to drive away, she occupied herself by opening one of the MRE's and eating the warm food.

She put all her attention on doing that so it wasn't until she finished that she noticed that they were heading back, backtracking the road they had taken to get there. "Where are we going?"

"Alexandria." He replied, plain and simple and she ventured to take a look at him.

He was as serious as ever, not a surprise there because she has seen him look like that many times before, but she took pride on catching on people's moods and there were little indications that screamed out loud that he wasn't as indifferent as he seemed at first glance. For starters, he was compulsively chewing on the inside of his lips and the way he impatiently and continuously tapped his fingers on the gear lever told her that something was bothering him, her. She was either making him uncomfortable or he was just pissed at her.

By the way his jaw was firmy set she would bet on anything that it was the later and that was why he was giving her the cold shoulder and why he woke her up so abruptly.

Lifting a hand so that she could run it through her now loose hair, she pushed the inside of her cheek with her tongue and tilted her head towards the window. For a while she closed her eyes and tried to rest but with the car's constants jerks she just couldn't. Besides the tension in the air was so heavy and thick that she was almost choking with it.

It was one of those rare occasions were silence was too damn loud and the way she saw it, the air needed to be cleared. It was obvious that they were no longer going to keep on with their little trip and true, what happened was something she didn't want to discuss right there but at the same time she felt it needed to be addressed. It was a long way to Alexandria and she didn't want to spend it like that, so why not grab the bull by it's horns and be done with it?

Besides how bad could it be? If she had to be completely honest she didn't even know how it felt to kiss him so part of her mind couldn't get why it was such a big issue. It all happened so quick that she didn't even got to savor it, she didn't even remember how his lips felt against hers or if he did something with his hands or if he even responded. She doubted it was different for him so there was no reason to make something so little get so big.

Maybe if she would have known that the kiss was going to cause such a mess she would have make more of it, like engrave it into her mind at last to decide if the damn thing was worth it or not.

"I was drunk last night, I didn't meant to…"

"Forget it." Cutting her off both with what he said and with a motion of his hand that indicated her to shut up, he hissed.

"I will." She said almost angrily, for some reason annoyed that he didn't even let her finish. Probably because of the hangover it made her angry that he was angry and yes, it also bothered her that because of a stupid little kiss she now had to head back to Alexandria. She didn't want to go back. "This is stupid."

"Coming here was stupid."

Arching an eyebrow and crossing her arms defensively to her chest, she eyed him. "Well I didn't force you." And she hadn't, sure the idea was hers but she didn't force him into going with her.

"You never mention your real intentions either."

"What the hell… what do you mean with my real intentions?"

"Just saying that if you want someone to hook up with you then you better start finding them back in Alexandria cuz it ain't gonna be me."

Gasping and actually letting her jaw hang loose, she turned fully to her side so that she could face him. She did it slowly, almost in slow motion. Did he seriously tell her that? "Trust me, I have no intentions with you. In fact I would have to be way more drunk than I was before wanting to hook up with you."

"That ain't what it look like last night, and just to make it clear I don't want to hook up with you even when drunk so forget whatever stupid idea you have."

Shaking her head in disbelief, she closed her hand into a fist and fought hard against the urge to punch him right in the face. But she didn't, she just took a deep breath and tried to be reasonable. If there was something she knew was that she had a short fuse and in her state she didn't want to make a drama out of something so ridiculous as a kiss.

"It was a mistake okay." A mistake that wouldn't have even happened if he hadn't gone ahead and grab her so close while looking at her with those stupid stunning eyes of his. Was that why he was so pissed, because he knew he has wanted it and knowing that angered him?

"You know you acting like that won't make him get back to you, it'll only make him glad he dumped you for Sasha."

Not really believing what he just said, she did a double take.

"What?" She asked in an eerie calmness she wasn't feeling; actually what she was feeling after the initial shock was anger rising up from within her and reaching all the way to the top of her head. The feeling was even tangible and for a second she was even blinded by it. Who the hell did he think he was? And that he wasn't responding to the chance to take it back was making her feel even more mad. "Stop the car."

Tensing his jaw hard enough so that she noticed the muscle moving and blinking a couple of times, he said nothing and did nothing other than drive.

"I said stop the car." Her voice came off louder than what she intended and for the first time probably that morning he had the decency of taking a look at her, and as his eyes met her furious ones it almost seemed as if he cringed.

She just wasn't sure if it was because he realized what he just said or because she looked about to burst. That right there angered her even more and unable to stop herself she grabbed the first thing she had at reach, which happened to be a bottle of water and hit his shoulder one and then two times as hard as she could. Then just for the sake of it she added another one.

He tried to block it but the impact still made the bottle open and spill the precious liquid all over him.

"Stop the fucking car!"

Pulling over and turning to her he watched as she grabbed all her things, her backpack, the rifle and machete, once she got it all she opened the door to get out.

"Come on don't be ridiculous, you won't make it walking back home."

As soon as her feet touched the ground she turned to him and yes, she flipped him. "Screw you." Then she slammed the door as hard as she could and started to walk into the woods by the side of the road.

It could be that she imagined it, but she was almost sure that she heard the way he started the truck and drove off and her only regret was that it didn't cross her mind to take a few meals from the provisions she found.

"Stupid asshole."

So yes, she walked away, she did it without thinking, with no sense of direction whatsoever and knowing full well that she was being careless and unreasonable. Regardless of that she put her bag to her back and grabbed her machete hard, ready in case she found a walker on her way. And that she did, in the first twenty minutes of walking aimlessly she encountered a few scattered around and wanting to take out the anger in her, she slashed them hard.

After that more kept coming and instead of finding them in ones and pairs, now small groups started to come after her. Some she dodged but most she dealt with them, and when her arms started to ache from swinging the machete she switched for a hunting knife which was easier to handle. She did that for some quite some, enough to make her break a sweat and get a little short of breath.

At least in her furor her headache was the last of her problems.

Snorting bitterly at that thought, she kept moving around and after a little more wandering she found a safe spot that she quickly cleared of walkers. Once secure she crouched down, taking her backpack off and putting it in front of her so that she could grab a bottle of water she knew she had in there. She only drank a little as she took a look around and that was when she started to think that maybe, just maybe she made another dumb mistake by getting off the car.

So yes she was pissed and didn't want to deal with Daryl but she had to face it, because of her little outburst she was now on her own, far from home and with just one bottle of water to help her through.

Maybe that little thing her mother used to tell her was true and she was indeed her own worse enemy. Shrugging because there was nothing to do about it now, she took a moment to collect herself, and as she did that she tried to think quick. If she walked by the road instead of the woods she could find a car and hot-wire it.

With a car she could make it to Alexandria before nightfall and..

Before she could finish that thought, she heard a noise from behind and grabbing her machete she jumped to her feet. The were a couple of walkers making their way to her so licking her lips she went to them.

The first one she got with no problem, but when she was about to strike the other one she felt something grabbing her leg and pulling at it and so she lost her balance. Then before she knew it she was face down on the dirt.

Kicking at her leg and listening to the growls behind her, she realized that there has been a third walker, or to phrase that better, half a walker crawling in the dirt and she gasped and kicked again. Then in a swift movement she rolled to her back, sat down and put the machete through its skull.

The whole thing happened ridiculously quick, she was still down when she was about to get to her feet and deal with the one she now had behind her, but before she could do anything about that one it fell down in a heap, a knife sticking through it's temple.

Breathing hard through her mouth and leaning backwards until the only thing that prevented her from laying flat on her back were her elbows supporting her weight, her eyes searched the direction from where the small knife came from and that's when she saw Daryl walking to her. He did it as if it was the most natural thing in the world and she just stared at him.

When he approached the walker he took the knife he effectively threw at him and retrieved it, then when he was by her side he extended a hand and offered it so she could get back to her feet.

"You done with your hissy fit?"

Lifting a hand to his but slapping it away instead of grabbing it, she snarled her lips. She didn't say anything though. She just clasped her mouth shut and focused on the way he looked imposing standing almost over her.

"Come on." He said, placing the hand she just pushed away to his waist and resting the weight of his body to his left foot. The look on his face was telling her that he was bored out of his mind while she was winded, sweating, dirty and knocked to ground. That once again pissed her off.

"Go back to Alexandria and leave me alone."

"If I leave you alone you gonna die out here. You almost became dinner to this one right now so stop being a little brat and let's go."

Yes, that man just had a way with words… no wonder people considered him a total jerk.

"I had it handled, I didn't need you to come here and play hero."

"Sure."

Lifting her head so she could look at him, she blinked. He returned the stare and extended his hand to hers once again.

"You are an asshole."

"I know."

"And you don't know me, so just don't think you do just because I made a stupid drunk mistake. You don't know shit… I'm my own person, I'm not just Abraham's bitter ex and I don't do the things I do because of him or anyone else so don't undermine me, I hate that."

"Ok."

"Don't just okay me."

"And what the fuck you want me to say? Fine, I was an asshole, I told you I was a drunk asshole and that includes after. Also I ain't got to shut my eyes taking over your watch while you slept good as a baby so really, I ain't got no time for this now.'

Twisting her lips, she shook her head. "You suck at apologies." But even though she said that, she lifted her hand to his and allowed him to grab it.

He did, his much larger hand took over hers and once firmly in his hold, he pulled so she could get up. It was kind of weird but as that happened she couldn't help but to think that their hands linked together was the longest skin to skin they had shared. It made her feel glad that she wasn't wearing gloves so she could fully grasp the feeling.

Yes, because the only other skin to skin or flesh to flesh they had shared has been the kiss and that didn't last long, meaning that she didn't get to really appreciate it.

"I don't need to apologize, I just saved you."

Already on her own two feet but still with her hand on his, she hummed. She just didn't know what to say, the glint in his eyes as their hands remained linked was somehow making her question what the hell was going on and well, since last time he looked at her like that she ended up doing something stupid she decided that it was safer to say and do nothing.

But then as if snapping back to reality he broke the contact and motioned her to follow him.

"Let's move.'

Sighing, she grabbed her things and unaware that they were heading to some danger, she followed him…

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

It was funny how silence could hang in the air like a thousand pounds of deadweight; how under the right circumstances the pressure of it could even become suffocating. That was how Daryl's silent treatment felt to Rosita in that moment and as she walked quietly behind him, she wondered how it came to be that some people claimed that silence was a luxury.

Sure, it was true that silence was better than bullshit and that it should only be broken when it could be improved and yes, since she knew for sure that whatever possible conversation between her and Daryl was bound to end up in unnecessary drama it was better to keep their words and thoughts to themselves. All that was true, but at the same time there was nothing that she disliked more than being snubbed off and that was what he was doing to her.

He was blatantly ignoring her, after going through the trouble of venturing into the woods to look for her he was once again giving her the cold shoulder and that just rubbed her the wrong way. Not that she wanted them to chit chat as if nothing happened, but acknowledging her was not only common courtesy, but also the best act to make if he really wanted to clear the air between them.

But he wasn't even trying, since he motioned her to follow him he hasn't even glanced her way and let alone cross a word with her and she just didn't get why he bothered at all to go find her and then offer that poor excuse of an apology if she was apparently the last person on earth he wanted to interact with.

The logic of it eluded her… not that she was going to let him know how much that baffled her. No, as far as she was concerned two could play that game and if he was going to act as if she wasn't there, then she was going to ignore him too.

Decided, she pushed the inside of her cheek with the tip of her tongue and tilted her head towards him one last time, corroborating that just as he has been doing for the last couple of miles he was walking a few paces in front of her; backpack on, rifle hanging by his side and a knife safely in his fist. His back was to her so she couldn't read his expression but she would bet on anything that he was fully alert of his surroundings because that was how he was, focused.

Focused on everything but her, obviously.

With a roll of her eyes, she moved her face away so that she could look anywhere but him and started to scan her surroundings. They were still walking into the woods, but she was going to assume they were close to wherever Daryl has parked the vehicle because from where they were, the road was almost visible.

They kept walking alongside it, edging it but keeping their distance while taking on the few walkers that got in their way. There were not a lot of them standing, but there were quite a few down and that definitely picked her attention.

Slowing her pace, she tried to remember if that has been the same path she took earlier on. In her fury she hadn't been paying much attention so she kept looking around to check if there was something, anything that would indicate her if she has been the one taking on the walkers.

It was as she was scanning through the area that she noticed what appeared to be some graves. There were five of them, three covered up and the other two unfinished. They were just a couple of holes in the ground, but judging by the wooden coffins in them she was going to say that just as the other three, the intention of them has been a burial.

"Seems like whoever did this left in a hurry." Daryl's voice, almost low as a growl broke the silence that has being reigning over them and she actually had to look at him as if in surprise.

She didn't reply though, unsure if he was talking to himself or if he was actually finally addressing her presence. There was no way of knowing for sure because he still wasn't looking at her, what he was doing was using the tip of his boot to push the lid of one of the coffins open to take a peek inside.

"It's empty. Other's broken."

Taking a look herself, she saw that just as he said, one of them was broken, the lid was half smashed and the wood was sticking out as if in a grotesque sculpture, the other one was intact but empty; that right there made her wonder what happened in there. Maybe if the situation would be different she would even ask him what was his take on the scenario, after all he did have a good eye for detail.

But since the situation was what it was she stopped just long enough to take a glance and then she started walking after him once again. That only lasted for a couple of minutes because all of a sudden the sound of an approaching vehicle echoed all around and she immediately ducked down.

She did it out of instinct even though the car was still a distance away, but when her ear picked up that there were more than one, probably three of them she moved her eyes around to search for Daryl.

He wasn't far from her and as her eyes settled on him the first thing she noticed was that he was also down, he was crouching and even when his eyes were set on the road up ahead, he was motioning to her to be quiet and keep down, as if she had to be told.

With another roll of her eyes, she pouted her lips and waited for the cars to pass by, only that they didn't, they pulled over and judging by the sound of doors being slammed there were people getting off. Now, she was close enough to hear them talking but too far to make out their words, thing that she didn't like one bit.

She also didn't like the fact that Daryl was getting nearer to the road, probably so that he could listen and despite thinking that it wasn't a good idea for them to get too close, she approached him, moving quiet as a shadow while keeping down.

"… _with the plan. Fat Joey's going to lead the crawlers away and once they're gone I want everyone searching the woods, every tree and creek and crevice, we swept this shit down and we don't leave until we find them. Now get your ass moving and get ready."_

Blinking slowly as the words registered in her brain, Rosita lifted her face towards Daryl. He was squinting his eyes as he kept looking towards the voices and as one, maybe two of the cars started, he looked down at her as well.

"It ain't us they're looking for but that don't mean we'll sit and wait for them; they packing heavy. Let's keep moving, we gonna have to…"

Before he could finish the sentence, one of the cars turned on what appeared to be speakers and then loud music started to blast all through the place. It took Rosita only a second to realize what was going to happen.

"Fuck." Daryl mumbled and she knew that it hit him too.

They were basically trapped, the car with the speakers wasn't moving and that only meant that they were waiting for walkers to start coming their way. And they would very soon, with the music so loud they were sure as hell going to come. It was a tactic they had even used and having seen the implications she knew that in a matter of nothing the walking dead were going to head towards the car by the dozens, maybe even more and well, as they made their way towards the car they were going to encounter her and Daryl.

They could try to make a run for it, but the truth was than no matter where they went they were going to get swamped in. It was either that or take their chance with the men with the speakers and since they didn't look too amicable with their guns and bad intentions, she was going to discard that too.

"Daryl-" She began to say.

Meanwhile he was still crouching down, biting the inside of his thumb as if thinking what to do. But then he got to his feet and shook his head. "Let's go."

Not having to be told twice, she started following him, thinking that whatever they were going to do they better not use guns. It was bad to deal with the walkers on their own but shooting was going to draw too much attention. What they could do was fight their way out, it was risky but they could do it. She was going to tell him so, but when she saw that he stopped by the graves and started to take off his riffle and backpack to put them in the space between the empty coffin and the dug hole, she shook her head no.

"No." She said standing her ground.

"Got a better idea?"

Sucking her lips into her mouth, she took a look around. Their surroundings looked clear, but in the distance she could hear movement, lots of it and that only meant walkers. So no, running was now not an option, then there was the road and there was no way they could go there unseen, which meant that Daryl's idea was the only one and even that was an awful one.

Puffing out a breath and furrowing her brows, she took off her rifle and backpack as well, then she did the same thing as Daryl and put them safely out of the away. By then he had already slid the entire lid open and was getting in. "Keep the machete and the knife, we'll probably need it."

"I don't like this." She mumbled between clenched teeth, more to herself than to him but knowing that she needed to hurry she took off the things he said and gave them to him. He put them by his side and lay down on his back, making it obvious that she had to basically accommodate herself over him.

And that was exactly what she did, biting hard onto her lips she went down with him, her knees straddling one of his thighs and the full weight off her body against him. It was awkward as hell, especially after what happened between them the night before, but it was what it was and before she could find a way to be as comfortable as she could under the circumstances, he was dragging the lid close.

"Is this a bad time to tell you I don't like being in closed spaces?" She whispered, but when she noticed that they were not entirely in the darkness and that even though the lid was in place there was a little opening where not only air but also light could come through, she blew out a breath she didn't even know she has been holding.

And really, it wasn't like she was claustrophobic or anything, but she was in a damn grave, in a coffin and basically trapped with another being in there so yes, it wasn't like she has having a blast. It was just…

"You gonna freak out on me now?" He whispered back and lifting her head a little so she could look at him, she saw that he was trying to get a peek out through the small opening. As he did that, his lips were slightly parted, probably from the effort of straining his neck and she could see how the tip of his tongue kept pushing against his upper teeth. It looked like a habit of his and not wanting to get caught up she moved her eyes away and tried to get a look outside too.

Because of the angle it was easier for her to peer out, but still she couldn't see anything that indicated the upcoming approach of the walkers; she could hear them though, growing louder and louder with each passing second.

Feeling antsy and closed in, she swallowed on dry and tried to accommodate herself by slowly moving a bit higher, it was hard with the lack of space available and probably because of that, she clumsily pushed her knee right between his legs. It was an involuntarily miscalculation from her part and as soon as the contact was made he grabbed her thigh and put it over his other leg, meaning that she was now straddling his hips and not his leg as before.

He did that almost angrily so she cleared her throat and apologized. "Sorry." She said in a hushed voice, feeling more awkward than mortified because even though he probably did that as a way to keep her from contacting his crotch, in her mind the new position she was now in left much to be desired. And that move of grabbing her? That has been a little bold for him even if he didn't mean anything by it.

Taking his hand off of her and placing it along his other one against the lid, he hissed. "Just stop wriggling."

"I am not wriggling." And she really wasn't, but because the last thing she wanted was for him to start saying she was taking advantage of the situation, she tried to keep as still as she could. It was enough with his silent reproach about the kiss so she didn't need this on her back as well. Besides he was now taking extra precautions not to touch her more than what it was necessary and that screamed out loud that he was as uncomfortable with the situation as she was so the best she could do was let it go.

So, wanting to focus on something else but the man beneath her, she went back at looking through the small peeking opening. "They are here." She said, proud that her voice didn't tremble when she caught a glimpse of feet dragging towards the music. There were quiet a few and when the growls started to become louder than the music, she lowered her eyes to his face.

In that moment she caught him looking at her and when their eyes found each other in the confines of their hidden spot he moved them towards the crack that offered a view outside. In his position in was challenging to look though so with a twist of his lips he moved his eyes to hers again, the full intensity of those blue digging into hers because this time it was him the one who caught her staring at him. But unlike him, she didn't look away, she got caught up in the deepness of his stare and basically froze.

They were close, so close that she could feel his breathing caressing her face and somehow it all felt like a déjà vu. It was all too recent in her memories so yes, her mind automatically recalled that last time she has been so close to him she ended up kissing him; sure, a drunk light kiss but a kiss nonetheless.

Blinking slowly, she noticed how his eyes lowered to her lips and she actually had to swallow down because she was damn sure he was also remembering what happened the previous night. Surprisingly, realizing that he wasn't trying to bite her head off as he thought back to it sent a shiver down her spine as she wondered what would happen if she did it again…

Not that she would, his eyes on her lips lasted only a second and when they were back on her eyes she remembered his reaction so no, it wasn't going to happen.

Forcing her eyes to move from his and closing her hands into fists as they rested at either side of his head, she looked out again, but the thing was that he felt like a magnet and after a quick glance she went back at looking at him. He was still scanning her face with curious eyes and he wasn't hiding what he was doing.

Maybe he wanted to kiss her and if that was the case she could get something more than a simple very chaste peck. If that happened she would definitely put attention to the whole thing because she could barely remember the feeling of her lips pressing to his… it could be a real kiss now.

But before her mind could keep on messing with her, a walker stepped onto the coffin and she actually jumped in surprise. A small gasp was also torn from her and suddenly, she wasn't thinking about kissing him anymore.

It was probably ridiculous, but in that moment she started to think on all of the things that could go wrong. Like the lid could break and they could either be munched to death or be stampede on, or the walkers could trip over them and one after the other they could get stuck and pile up and how the hell were she and Daryl would push them off?

"I don't like this."

"Shh."

Another walker stepped over the coffin and the lid trembled, making her startle again. It also made her lower herself against him and closing her eyes, she hid her face into the crook of his neck while pressing her mouth to his shoulder.

She did that as a way to force herself not to say anything because by now there were countless of feet stomping and dragging against the wooden barrier that was keeping them safe, but even though she was as quiet as she could she could listen her heart beating so hard that she was afraid it could be heard all the way to Alexandria. It was hammering insanely fast against her ribcage and yes, against Daryl's too.

There was no way he couldn't feel that and she even wondered if her heart could explode from the intensity of the whole thing. It was as she wondered about that when his hands came down to touch her, one taking a moment to brush her hair out of his face before it came to rest against her, almost to her shoulder and the other one to her lower back.

Tensing over the whole thing but too preoccupied to wonder how they ended up in that position, she tried to occupy her mind in other things, like on the way his chest rose and fell as he breathed. It was soothing in certain way, but even with that little distraction, every time the wood creaked she jumped. If it wasn't because he was now holding her to him she would have probably already pushed against the lid to take her chances outside.

Fighting her way through walkers didn't feel as terrifying as being there, trapped underground. But at the same time she knew being there was the best way of pulling through so that's what she did, she remained immobile against Daryl as the herd went through.

For how long they remained there? She didn't know, all she knew was that after the longest wait of her life it was over and she wanted nothing more than get out and take a deep breath of fresh air. She was already pushing against the lid when she heard people talking and so she went back down.

Now, she did that hard, basically letting her weigh crash against Daryl and he puffed out a breath at the impact. He also placed both hands to her hips before sliding them to her back again.

" _I don't get why we have to keep looking for D instead of going after the assholes who took down the outpost."_

" _You really think Negan is going to let that slide? That's coming, last I heard we were sending people searching for them too. Soon they'll be pretty much done, same as D and his two…"_

The two men kept their conversation as they too walked over the coffin and after several minutes of nothing but silence, it was Daryl the one pushing the lid open _._

Pushing off of him and quickly taking a look around to make sure the area was really clear, Rosita stepped out of the grave. "They were talking about our group." Which meant they needed to go back to Alexandria as soon as they could. "We have to tell them."

"Yeah I know." He replied, getting out of his pocket a cigarette and lighting it up. Once that was done he took his things and much as he has been doing before, he began to walk without saying a word.

Grabbing for her own things, she hurried after him, her mind racing a thousand miles per second. If those men were with the same group they had taken out at the outpost then they sure as hell were not happy with them and that only meant trouble.

That was why they needed to hurry, warn the others and think on what to do.

The only problem was that the two men that passed them by earlier on were not the only ones searching through the woods and in more than one occasion they had to alternate their routes to evade them. That took good part of the day and when dusk was creeping in they found themselves hiding into a small second story apartment. There was a group of about five a couple of miles ahead and they wanted them to move out first.

"How much ammo you got?" Daryl asked as he looked into his bag, then before she could even check he was pushing her way a good amount of ammunition. He also took out two bottle of water and some canned food, he gave all that to her.

Since they just ate the last MRE's she frowned, not really getting why he was giving that to her.

"I'm gonna head out and distract them so you can sneak out the back and make it to Alexandria."

"What? No-" She began to say as she realized what he wanted to do.

"Shouldn't be much walkers around so with a good pace you can make it by tomorrow noon, maybe less if you find yourself some wheels."

"Daryl, no. We stick together and we make it together. There's more that a dozen men out there and you know they are packing heavy so no, just… no."

Not minding what she just said, he took his rifle and made it to the door. She almost had to run to beat him to it to pull the door shut.

"I said we stick together; we either make it to Alexandria together or we go out there and take on the group, but neither of us we'll do anything alone."

As if her words pissed him off he took a step back and dragged the palm of his hand down his face. "Yeah because we are making great progress together. I ain't hiding no more, Rosita, but that don't mean you can't go and warn Rick."

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"I can throw them off track."

"No." She said decided as he took a step towards the door. She even put herself between the exit and him.

"Move." He said once he was right in front of her, his face a stoic mask that gave nothing away. If it wasn't because the intensity of his eyes lit his whole face in annoyance, she would even think the whole thing was boring to him.

"I'm not going to move, you're not even lis-"

Not letting her finish, he grabbed her face with both his hands and pulled it to his. He did it roughly, making her stumble against him so that she had to raise her hands to his chest to steady herself; it was as that happened that his mouth pressed to hers and he kissed her.

Caught in the sudden surprise, she barely had time to close her eyes before realization hit her. He was kissing her! Well, at least he was pressing hard against her mouth with his own mouth, but when she parted her lips he didn't hesitate in going in, swirling his tongue around hers and then moving one of his hands to the back of her head as if to hold her in place.

Unsure of what was going on but wanting to savor the moment to its fullest, Rosita tilted her head to the right as his tongue did a quick exploration of her mouth. He wasn't too tender about it and with the force of the kiss her head would sometimes lean back a little. When that happened Daryl would hold her even closer even though he was the one pushing her back, the fingers of his right hand tangling in her hair as the kiss became deeper and more intense.

But then, as suddenly as it began, the kiss ended abruptly when he pulled away from her.

"Make sure you make it back there and tell them." Once that was said he walked around her and without saying another word he walked out.

It took her several seconds to realize he was leaving and when she finally managed to react, she went to open the door that he just closed. It didn't give away completely and giving it a jerk she came to understand that it was stuck. Somehow he managed to leave her behind so he could do what he wanted to do.

He distracted her with a kiss and she fell for it.

"Stupid son of…" Groaning, she used her full body weight to push at the door and it opened a little more, but as she knew, by the time she would be able to get out of there it was going to be too late.


	4. Chapter 4

"I' am going to kill him."

Hissing under her breath as her foot searched blindly for a safe spot to settle in, Rosita let go of the steel rod she has been holding onto and grabbed for the one below. She was climbing down out of a second story building and she wasn't happy about it.

No, actually she was seething about the hole thing and the closer to the ground she got the angrier she would get. She just couldn't believe that he left her behind and what was worse, that he used such a cheap trick to do it.

She also couldn't believe that she fell for it, how she even kissed him back as if it was the most natural thing in the world even when she should have known that he was up to something. After all he was Daryl, Mr. Don't get close to nobody and she knew from experience that he wasn't exactly a kissing kind of person, at least when it came to her as she has seen how he reacted to the little peck she gave him the previous night, so yes that he kissed her the way he did should have rang a bell for her.

But it didn't, she stupidly let herself be carried away into the moment and now she was the fool who let him kiss his way out. It didn't do much to her already acrid mood to realize that he knew it would work and that she proved him right.

But what could she say in her defense? She was only human, one with many faults and what ran through her veins was blood, not ice and she had to admit that deep inside she wanted to kiss him since they were hiding undergrown. It was a feeling she tried to ignore, especially since she was sure it was a one sided desire, but then he kissed her and in the blissful shock of it she just didn't recognize his real intentions, ditching her.

Shaking her head in disbelief, she kept going down and once she was safely on her own two feet she turned around to search for the bag she has thrown through the window before deciding that the quickest way to get out of the apartment was climbing down.

But when she turned what she found was a man pointing a crossbow in her direction.

Getting in full defense mode and clearing her mind of any distraction, she quickly grabbed for the pistol she had tucked at her waist and aimed for him as he aimed for her.

"Drop it."

The voice came from behind her, a woman, and cussing in her mind she snarled her lips and lowered her gun. She has checked before going down and there has been no one… well, apparently no one that she saw.

Smiling, the man clicked his tongue to his check as Rosita felt the woman behind her checking her out for any additional weapon. She had none other than the rifle that was being stripped off of her, everything else was in the backpack the man was lifting off the ground and throwing over his shoulder.

"She's clear."

"What the hell do you want?" Rosita asked as her gun was taken away, she said that without taking her eyes off the man but her senses fully aware that the woman could strike at any given moment. Then, before she even got a reply she noticed the crossbow and squinting her eyes she tilted her head to the side. "That isn't yours."

No, it was Daryl's and assuming that was the infamous Dwight, the one who took not only Daryl's crossbow but also his bike, she wondered why were they still around.

Daryl himself believed the man to be far away already.

"It is now. Haven't got used to it yet but I'll get the hang out of her soon."

"We saw him with you, Daryl. Is he going after the Saviors?" The woman asked, walking around her so she could stand by the man's side.

Chewing on her tongue and with her senses in overload, she studied the situation. She didn't have many options there and her basic instinct of survival apparently aware of that, were provoking the little hairs along her spine to stand on edge.

"What do you know about that?" She asked. The man was still pointing the crossbow at her and probably because her eyes were glued to it, the woman motioned the man to lower it down.

He did, but it was the woman the one who spoke next. "We know more about Saviors than you will ever do and I'm telling you, you two better go back the same way you came in if you want to live."

"Okay. Give me my things and I'll make sure to tell Daryl the message." And really, she didn't want to waste more time with them when she could go and find Daryl before he did something stupid.

Yes, he was an asshole and she was a hell of a lot angry with him, but above anything the man was family and she wasn't going to let him fall on his own. That was what their group did, they stood with one another no matter what and if they didn't catch each other's fall then they would fall together.

So yes, that was what she had planned, get Daryl so they could go together back to Alexandria and warn the others or go down helping him deal with the so called Saviors so they wouldn't go after their home.

"Your things? Oh this is ours now."

"Don't be such a jerk, D." The woman said and surprisingly, she gave the guns back to Rosita. "I'm Sherry, this asshole here is Dwight."

Looking at them in turns, she hesitated before speaking. She did it while securing the strap of the rifle across her chest. "Rosita."

"Well, Rosita, your man is as good as dead if he went after them. They are like cockroaches, they keep multiplying and where you see three of them, four more come by and before you know it you are surrounded with no where to go. If you are smart you'll leave now."

"Yeah, thanks for the advise."

Smiling, he shrugged. "Since you are not going to follow said advise I guess you wouldn't mind us holding this for you?" Patting at her backpack, he arched an eyebrow.

Now, Rosita knew that pleading for the rest of her things was only going to take more of her time and not really caring about loosing more than what she already did, she swirled on the heels of her boots and started to walk away.

She half expected him to shot at her, and it wasn't until she walked all the way around the building that she let go of the breath she has been holding onto.

Apparently, she was now safe from them so it was time to look for Daryl.

She had a pretty good feeling that he went straight to the group of men they saw earlier on and that was were she headed to. And much as she assumed he was there alright, only that not in the situation she has been hoping to.

"Shit." She hissed, making sure not to make too much noise. She was at a safe distance but it was better to be safe by not drawing attention.

"Told you so." Came the voice of the blond man from somewhere behind her.

Startling a little but without even bothering to look at him, Rosita took her rifle and pointed at one of the man surrounding Daryl. There were five of them and judging by the scene unfolding in front of her eyes, they just took turns giving the man a beating.

There were also four more laying on the grass and she was going to assume those were dead. Probably thanks to Daryl and that was why the remaining ones where not too happy with their attacker.

"Your man took out those, the rest of them probably came out after. That's what they do. There will be more coming."

"He's not my man."

In her mind she was calculating how many she could take down before they realized she was there. Her take was probably two and that would leave three of them. Maybe she could even take a third one… yes, it was a gamble, but it was better than leaving Daryl to his fate.

Not thinking much about it, she took the first shot, then the second one and even a third. She got two of them right in the head.

"Are you fucking out of your mind?" Dwight almost shouted and before the men could turn around to where the shots came, he himself took them down.

Not bothering to offer a reply, she started to run towards Daryl. The five shots were definitely going to draw attention of not only more men, but also walkers so she did her best to get to him as fast as she could.

He was already on his feet, banged up but in one piece and when he saw her he spat blood on the grass and then wiped his also bloody nose with the back of his hand. "What the fuck are doing, told you to get the fuck back to Alexandria."

Not really surprised by his response, she took a couple of guns from the fallen man. "Well you're welcome for saving your stupid ass."

Facing him to tell him to better hurry, she saw as his eyes shifted from her and landed on something behind her. She didn't have to look because the way his eyes darkened and his jaw locked, she just knew that he saw Dwight.

"Son of a bitch."

Before she could do something about it, Daryl was rushing pass her and in a matter of nothing he was onto the other man. It happened fast, and for being a man who just took a beating he didn't even miss a beat. Before she could react they were fighting, Sherry trying to make them stop.

Rolling her eyes and taking in a deep breath, she went to them and did as the other woman, try to make them stop.

"Daryl." She tried to grab for him but he wouldn't let her, so taking a risk she got in front of him and putting her hands to his chest she snapped. "Stop it! He helped okay, he helped."

Panting and with his hair all over his face he halted. His eyes were scorching thought as he stared daggers at the other man, Rosita watched all that as her hands still pressed to him felt the way his heart beat hard and fast into his chest.

He was hot too, there was a warmness irradiating out of him in huge waves and even through the fabric of his clothes she could feel it.

For some reason, that sent a shiver running down her spine and it forced her to take her hands immediately off his chest so she could grab at his arms instead. "We have to go."

Visibly swallowing down, he moved his eyes down to hers. In his mood his eyes were the darkest blue she has seen and that made her heart skip a beat. She has heard about his infamous temper but never before has she seen the intensity of those eyes directed at her while angry. Pissed? Yes, even annoyed and for a while he has looked at her with an intensity she hadn't quite decipher when they were trapped in the coffin.

But this was something else and she wasn't going to lie, it disconcerted her.

"I told you to go to Alexandria." He said through clenched teeth as his eyes returned to Dwight.

"We have to move, they'll be here soon."

In the distance, she could listen to the sound of vehicles approaching and getting on high alert mode, she tugged at Daryl's arm. "Don't be stupid now, come on."

Spitting more blood and clutching at his side, he did, they both followed Dwight and Sherry deep into the woods. They went after them without saying a word, not between them and not to the others. They walked for what seemed forever, sometimes she thought they finally lost the ones following them and sometimes feeling them at their heels.

The only good thing was that the woods was cleared of walkers, thanks to the ones now pursuing them so they didn't have much trouble moving around.

After some time, they came into a river, a dinghy boat tied to a tree nearby making sure it wouldn't float away.

Dwight and Sherry were mumbling among themselves and when Rosita noticed their hushed tones, she clenched her teeth and just to make sure Daryl wouldn't get creative, she stood right between them. "What is this?"

It was Sherry the one who turned to them. "There's a community, we've been communicating with them. They… it is a peculiar community but they take people like us in. D and I, we are not ready to go yet."

"We want to deal with The Saviors first."

"But you can go, they said that when we were ready we'll just need to come here. It's a smooth ride… you'll make it in no time."

"No fucking way, we ain't getting in that thing." Daryl complained and she actually felt him approach her from behind; he didn't get pass that point though.

"They are upon us. D and I can both get rid of them or we can run. You don't know these woods like we do and we can't make them know about this community."

"Look, we can't go. We have to reach our own community and warn them. These people are after them and we have to be there. You go, we can figure out what to do."

"We will go to this community of yours, Alexandria right?"

"The hell you'll go there."

Daryl put his hands on Rosita's back as if to make her move, Dwight saw it so walking to them with a determined look on his face, he reached for her hand and pulled at her, making her get out of the way.

"D, no!"

Stumbling, she turned around just in time to see Dwight use an arrow to stab Daryl's side, then as it went in he pulled it out forcibly.

"No!" She yelled, reaching for her gun. She didn't have time to take a hold of it though as Sherry wrapped an arm around her neck and swirled her around.

She almost felt to the ground with the force of it and when she steadied herself she saw than now Sherry was pointing the gun at her.

"I'll fucking kill you." She heard Daryl and a huge sense of relief washed over her at hearing his voice. He sounded even more angrier than before but alright under the circumstances.

"Touch him and I'll blow her brains out."

"Get in the fucking boat, they won't turn you around now that you are hurt."

Sure that Sherry wasn't going to shot her because Daryl stopped his advance towards Dwight after she said what she said, Rosita walked pass the married couple and made it to Daryl.

He was hurt alright, but nothing that couldn't get fixed with the proper care. That was why she immediately pressed the palm of her hand to the wound. "You have to lay down, we need to stop the bleeding. Come on."

Grunting, Daryl didn't move, and if it wasn't because they started to hear approaching voices he wouldn't have moved.

Getting into the boat, he did lay down and when Dwight started the engine and sent them away, Rosita sent one last look at them, it was full of hatred.

"You should have done what I told ya' to do."

Looking down at him, her eyes meet his. She was still pressing into the wound. "What, and miss on saving your ass twice. No way."

Instead of replying, he closed his eyes and twisted his lips in an apparent grimace of pain.

Rosita watched him, glad that her hands were busy because she had a strong desire to brush his hair out of his face and that was the last thing she needed to be doing.

She wasn't sure how long they rode in the boat, but even though the blood already stopped she didn't dare take her hands away. He has lost a good amount of it and his face was staring to look a little too pale.

"Daryl, are you still here with me?"

"Mhh." He mumbled and she blew out a breath.

Looking away from him, she scanned her surroundings. "I can't believe this." She said to herself while looking around and noticing that there were a couple of men dressed in white tunics. She didn't really know what they were all about, but when one of them got into the water and grabbed for the boat as they passed, she swallowed down and tensed all over.

"Welcome to Eden." The man said and somehow, she didn't like him. "You've come to the right place, yes you did."

TBC

Short update! Just trying to get this where I want it to go.


	5. Chapter 5

Rosita couldn't quite believe what she just heard. The explanation came easy enough and it really wasn't that hard to understand, but as she sat with her arms crossed against her chest and a stupefied look upon her face, she couldn't find the right words to reply.

"Wow." She said at last, shaking her head and using her hand to run it through her hair.

"It is a good thing that you came with a husband already, I mean you are married right?"

"Mmhh." She mumbled with a forced smile, not really knowing what to say.

Apparently, Dwight and his wife had signed up for a community of religious freaks that were sure that repopulating earth was God's plan for fighting against the demons that walked outside, that was why they founded Eden, a safe haven where couples could just live in and procreate.

Women worked inside the safe walls of the premises and popped out babies, men impregnated them on their free time. Yes, because their real work was to go outside and fight what they called the demons.

Rosita saw it as a Holy Inquisition and that couldn't be good.

"Good, we have a list of suitable partners in case single women come by. We have a priest that marries couple every Sunday. We get quite a few widows too, especially now that the demons keep showing and as we know, they need a man too."

"Okay…" She fought against the urge to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but since Daryl was still recuperating she decided that until he was better and they could take off, she better play along.

"We are really glad you are here, hopefully your husband will get better soon so we can start working with you two. Have you seen the room assigned?"

"Yes. It's great." And really, Eden was perfect for its purpose, mind you, after all it was located by the coast, an old hotel fortified well enough so that residents could roam safely around. The rooms? According to the sign by the lobby, five stars.

She was even told they had access to a beach and what she was able to see of the gardens reminded her of a park in the old days. It was really something else.

Even Daryl has been impressed, he didn't exactly say it but she read it on his face.

"Well, I won't take more of your time as I am sure your husband awaits you." With that said, the woman, who happened to be pregnant with her third child got up and showed Rosita to the door. "I'll see you two tonight."

Walking out of the office and hurrying towards the room they just gave them, Rosita closed the door and rested her back to the door. "We have to get the hell out of here, the sooner the better."

Daryl was sitting on the balcony, chewing on the inside of his thumb. He hadn't said much since they got there, not even when she herself patched up his wound. A whole day has passed since that, the night they spent dozing off on the bus that took them there and now that a new day has come and the awkward screening process they went through was done, they were finally left alone.

Walking in, she started to look for things they could take with them. There were blankets, clothes and all the toilerettes they could need. She even saw a moisturizer lotion and despite herself she gasped in delight and put it on.

Once that was done she went to the balcony and arched an eyebrow. Daryl was paying no attention to her, but she did scanned him over. Apparently, he has taken the hint she gave him of playing along and got a shower. Back when he was being tended over one of the woman suggested she should give him a sponge bath and she actually snorted.

She tried to cover up the slip and said she would once in their room, so she was glad he actually cleaned up. He was even wearing the clothes they gave him and she wondered if that was why he had the long face. After all it was definitely not the clothes we would normally wear.

"They want us out to mingle tonight, maybe we can check for a weak point to get out when you are ready."

"I'm ready now."

"Don't be stupid. We need to rest, you need to heal that wound and get some strength back and we need to know where the hell are we." Other than knowing they were by the coast, they knew nothing. "

They had driven for a long time so as far as she knew they weren't even in Virginia.

"It wouldn't hurt to gather provisions and arm ourselves too." She said, walking back into the room and getting into the bathroom to change.

Now, just as what probably happened to Daryl, what they gave her to wear wasn't by any means things she would have picked up if given the choice, but it was what she had since the few clothes she has taken out of Alexandria were in her backpack back with Dwight.

At least they fit so with a shrug, she took a quick shower and got dressed. She even did her hair and applied a bit of make up, the perfume they put among her new things she left there untouched.

After she was done and ready, she walked to him and motioned him that it was time to go. This time he did look at her, his eyes drinking on her appearances. She even believed his eyes stopped for a second over her modest cleavage and they way the fabric hugged her frame.

"You look ridiculous."

Chuckling and rolling her eyes, she turned and sat by the bed, discretely looking down to what she was wearing and wondering if he really believed she looked ridiculous. Not that it mattered, so with a shrug she got back to her feet and made it to the door.

"Come on Dixon."

Grunting, he got up too and went out with her. "I would give anything for a smoke right now."

Outside, couples walked hand in hand through the gardens, not many but there were a few. As for her and Daryl, they started to inspect the surroundings. The walls were high, all in concrete so climbing out was not an option and the gates were secured with armed men that didn't look too friendly.

"And if we just ask to leave?" She asked with a shrug. But before Daryl could even respond the woman who interviewed her earlier on intercepted them and dragged them to dinner.

It was an awful experience where the only good thing was the wine and the food and as soon as they were able to, they sneaked out. Michelle, one of the women suggested them a walk on the beach and she said they would. They even gave them a bottle of wine and she wondered how many women got pregnant after drinking one of those.

Daryl didn't say anything until they got out. "What the fuck is with this place."

"The hell if I know." Snorting, she gave the wine to him. Last time she got drunk she did something stupid and since she already had a couple of glasses on herself she didn't want a repeat. "Maybe we could find something by the beach, I mean they can't have fences there, right?"

Only that they did, not concrete but guarded ones.

"Well… shit." She said, but even as she said that she looked around in appreciation.

The ocean, it was a sight she thought she would never see again. It lifted her spirit and closing her eyes, she breathed into the salty air. "I thought I would never get to see the ocean again."

Taking off her shoes, she buried her feet into the sand and wriggled her toes.

"I've never been to the ocean before."

"Get out, are you serious?"

Turning to him, she took notice of how he stood there, eyes lost in the distance, the breeze messing his hair, the white buttoned shirt he was wearing giving a hint of the outline of his chest and arms while his hand were buried into the pockets of his dress pants. He was like a mirage and she couldn't help but to stare.

Shrugging he looked at her.

"Well I grew up loving the ocean, even as I was little I could sit for hours just looking at it and playing with my siblings. I kind of forgot about all that, you know, the old world."

"The old world don't matter no more."

Tearing her eyes from his because the glint in his eyes was confusing her, she turned towards the ocean and sighed. "Take off your shoes."

"Nah."

"Come on, I won't let you not have this experience." Venturing to look at him again, she said.

"It's okay." He waved her off.

"Come on." Walking to him she grabbed his arm and tugged at him. She had to pull a couple of times before he finally gave in.

He groaned a complain but once barefoot and his pants rolled up his calves, he walked with her towards the shore. She kept her hand on his arm, liking the contact and the fact that he wasn't pulling away from her touch.

Then, as soon as the water made contact with her feet she gasped as an icy shiver ran from her toes to her spine. "Oh my God it's so cold."

As if in automatic, she dragged her hand towards his and grabbed it for support. She even gave it a light squeeze that he didn't reject but once she realized what she was doing she let go of his hand and bent a little to touch the water.

"This is not what I expected. West coast is definitely not so cold as this."

"This ain't that cold, I take you haven't gone swimming in a river."

"No."

"I'll have to take you then."

Biting on her lips to fight the smile that wanted to form in her face, she tilted her head up towards the sky. It was a moonless night, but the sight of it with thousands of star looking down on them stunning nonetheless. "Would it be colder than this?"

Waiting for a reply, she felt icy cold liquid reaching up to her shoulders, face and torso and because of the shock of it she was late to realize he just splashed water all over her.

"Colder." With that said he threw himself into the ocean while she stood trembling and with her mouth hanging open. That was definitely not something she has expected the man to do and while surprising, it was interesting to see a playful side of him.

So yes, witnessing that side was a first for her, but more than that it made her realize that it has been a long time since she acted in such a careless way herself.

The closest thing she remembered to acting like that has been after Father Gabriel's church, while their group was marching on zero energy and it started to rain. It has been such a relief that she didn't care and lay down in the middle of the street with Tara and allowed the precious raindrops to soak her through.

That felt like a lifetime away… and that Rosita was definitely not the same one standing there. It was just that it was so easy to forget how life was more than just surviving when reality kept bitch slapping you in the face and in that moment, even if it was for a little while she felt like letting her hair down and forget about Saviors, walkers and escaping this so called Eden so they could get back where they belonged.

She wouldn't feel guilty about it either. It was either enjoy the moment or go back to her room and complain about her bad luck.

Blinking rapidly and shaking herself back to reality, she watched as he disappeared into the water and then emerged deeper into the ocean. "You are a fucking asshole."

Swirling around as if he was looking for something, he shrugged. "Yup, think you said that already."

"Well I'll keep saying it as long as you keep being one."

Humming, he got closer to her and she noticed that if his shirt gave up the outline of his frame before, now it didn't leave anything to the imagination. That made her realize that wearing a white dress herself she wasn't in a different situation than him.

Was that why he was looking at her that way?

Feeling goose bumps all over her arms but unsure if it was because how his eyes were scanning her over or because it was so damn cold, she walked deeper into the ocean and sat down so that the water could reach at least to her shoulders instead of being exposed. But as the water embraced her whole with its iciness she gasped again and yes, maybe she even whined. It was way too cold. "Screw this, I am not made for cold water."

Who cared about being carefree when she could be warm?

Getting to her feet and rubbing her hands to her arms, she walked out.

"Rosita."

Her intentions has been making it to their room and out of the wet dress, but when she heard him call out to her she turned to him. She could count with one hand the times he has used her name and still have fingers left so that he used it picked her attention.

She waited until he got out of the water, then she just watched as he got real close to her and after a quick look to the guard he spoke in a low tone.

"You'll have to get used to it cuz that's how he we get out. If we swim around that blind spot over there we can make it to the other side. Once we bail we can get us some wheels and find out what's going on in Alexandria."

Trembling, she looked to the spot he said and nodded. It was a breakwater the hotel probably constructed before so yes, it could work. It would have to be at night though. "We can find another blind spot along the fence so we can throw our things and pick them up at the other side. It will be tricky but better than swimming with them."

Yes, it was probably the only way since she was sure that place was like Hotel California, you could check out anytime you wanted but you could never leave.

It was a good plan, she was going to say that out loud but when she looked at him she noticed that he was bleeding from the wound and with a groan she rolled her eyes. "Well we are not swimming anywhere until that heals. Come here." She motioned him to lean against a spot near the fence where the guard couldn't easily see and once he did she undid the lower buttons of his shirt so that she could inspect the wound. "I don't know how you get so stupid."

The bandage was wet so she took it off, making sure that none of the stitches got messed. They looked alright, and he was not bleeding anymore so she guessed he was fine. Maybe he strained them a little but that was it.

"Guess we can let it breathe for a while." Looking up, she saw that his eyes were set on her and when she lifted her head the blue orbs settled on hers. It entranced her for a few seconds were all she did was get lost in his stare.

During those seconds she didn't even realize that her fingers were resting on his exposed bruised stomach so when it hit her she took her hand away and clearing her throat, she started to button his shirt back up.

Yes, she has touched his skin and even seen him at plain daylight when she was stitching him up but somehow that was different. As she was patching him up he wasn't looking at her that way and being busy herself with the task at hand she hadn't even noticed the way his muscles tensed under her touch or how firm he felt.

"You have to be careful thought, without the proper care they can get infected."

Now, even though she wasn't looking, she could still feel his eyes burning on her and pushing the inside of her cheek with her tongue, she shook her head. All of a sudden everything was too silent, only the soft sound of waves crashing against the shore ringed in her ears and that made her feel too self-conscious of him and his closeness.

Her wet dress felt too tight as it got glued to her like a second skin, her hair was probably too messed and she wondered if the little make up she applied was running down her face. She was sure that even her underwear was visible under the almost see through dress and she cussed at picking white clothes instead of a darker color.

Not that she could do anything about all that now…

"You'll have to stop looking at me like that." She said finally. Her fingers felt numb and the coldness was making her shiver a little, meaning that it was taking her forever to finish the task and well, he wasn't helping either.

"Like what?" He asked and his voice was so low on his throat that she just had to look up into his eyes.

He was still doing it, looking at her as if he wanted to tell her something but not quite doing it and she had to lower her head back down so she could finish with the buttons. "Like you are doing now." She considered her next words very carefully. "Like you wouldn't mind if I kiss you."

To that he said nothing and once the last of the buttons were done she grabbed the edge of his shirt between her fingers and looked up.

"Just stop." But he wasn't, if anything she was sure that he was looking at her more intently and she wondered what he was thinking. With him it was always hard to tell which only increased her curiosity.

"I ain't looking at you like that."

Rolling her eyes and pouting her lips, she let go of his shirt and made to turn around. She didn't know why, but what he said rubbed her the wrong way.

"Okay, I mean I forgot I look ridiculous so maybe that's the look I'm getting out of you. I also forgot you only kiss me when you are about to ditch me and since we are trapped here it won't happen." And yes, she addressed the kiss he gave her because someone needed to do it and it was obviously not going to be him. "Now where's the damn bottle of wine?" Maybe she was going to need it after all.

She has been wrong, she couldn't do this sober.

"Yeah, get all dramatic and shit won't ya'."

She has been walking away from him when he said that, but then she turned around and closed the distance. She did it without thinking, like most things she usually ended up regretting. "Why are you so afraid of me?"

Snorting, he shook his head. "I ain't afraid of nothing."

For a moment that seemed to drag into eternity, she delved deep into his eyes. He matched the intensity of that quick glance, but he said no more and that was when she realized how tiresome this thing with Daryl not being as straight forward as she thought him to be was becoming. It was like he was trying so hard to keep her at a distance while at the same time keeping her at reaching hand and it wasn't only confusing with all the mixed signals, but it was also annoying.

"Right." She sighed, looking up to the skies once again. "Good night Daryl."

As she turned, he grabbed her arm and made her face him. Then much as he did once before he grabbed for her face and kissed her.

He did it more tenderly this time, lowering his hands to her waist as soon as her lips were secure against his and pulling her closer.

And as she was apparently doomed to repeat, she kissed him back; her annoyance on hold as her own hands went up into his hair.

Sighing, she pressed to him, drinking on sensation. His tongue felt warm as it swirled against hers and she could faintly detect a hint of the wine they had at diner. It felt good, he felt good.

They kissed for a while, long and deep until she was sure the taste of him was going to be forever in her mouth and until her lungs felt about to explode; after that they kissed even more, his breath becoming hers while their tongues dueled slowly, exploring one another while his hands ventured a little lower so he could press her even more into him.

Then as she knew it would happen, he pulled away.

Licking her lips she kept her eyes closed and lowered her head, expecting him to either say one of his cutting comments or just walk away. He did neither one of those.

"There, that what you wanted?"

Opening her eyes and facing him, she swallowed on dry. "Didn't you?"

He was still holding her to him and his hands lowered even more, resting over her ass before retreating completely.

Not that she was having any of that. She wasn't ready to give up on the moment just yet so before he could go or talk, she went back to kissing him.

He easily got into returning the kiss, taking control of it and even swirling her around so he could press her to the fence, pinning her body with his and claiming all her senses by the feelings provoked.

His hands were now running down her sides, moving lower and lower through her body until they reached her hips and then back to her ribcage.

Feeling feverish and no longer cold and wanting to feel even more of him, she wrapped an arm to his neck and pushed into him, and as she did that she felt the unmistakable feeling of his erection pressing to her thigh.

Letting out a soft moan into his mouth, she felt her entire body tremble. But as all good things, the kiss came to an end when he broke the contact once again.

Breathless and flushed, she looked at him. It was then when realization hit her. They have been making out and that was a big no, no.

"This ain't about wanting nothing. Go on, get back to the room."

Not really understanding what he said and what did it mean, she nodded and without saying a word, she walked out by herself. He remained behind and somehow she was glad.

The truth was that she didn't need more complications in her life and a man, any man was going to be just that. Daryl and his mood swings even more.

"But that kiss, oh my God." She mumbled as the memory of it took hold of her.

Hiding her face into her hands, she groaned. She didn't know how she knew it, but she was sure she was about to have the longest couple of days ahead and she couldn't decide if that was really bad or really good.

The only thing she knew was that sometime, Daryl was also going back to their room and after that little episode they just had, who knew what could happen.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

"So you are saying that we can't leave." Letting her own words resonate through the office, Rosita nodded her head absentmindedly while letting it all sink in, and as she did that she pursed her lips as if surprised.

Sure, she has come to the woman's office half expecting a negative answer, but what she hadn't expected was for the pregnant woman and apparent person in charge of the community to say it like that, so resounding and final.

"Look, Rosita. I understand that you've been here for just three days and that maybe you still don't understand the work we do here and the impact were are successfully making in the reconstruction of the new world, but-"

"No, I get what you are doing here and I respect it." She interrupted, her eyes taking on the way Michelle crossed her arms over her ample bosom. She didn't look pleased at being interrupted, but that didn't keep the newcomer from talking. "But the thing is that we, Daryl and me don't belong here. We have our own people and we need to get back to them."

Three days have been too long already and she was getting antsy. Who knew what was happening back home while they remained there.

"I'm sorry, you are already baptized by The Order. Once you take the journey through the river you are reborn into our faith and we are now your only family. You, your husband and your future children will be forever be taken care of. Why would you want to change that?"

Chuckling and running a hand down her face, Rosita allowed her nails to lightly scratch her neck once her fingers reached down. She wanted to yell in frustration. She wanted to snap and tell this woman that they only got into the river because they were basically forced into it and that no, that the man who welcomed them to Eden pouring water over their heads was definitely not a baptism. Not a voluntarily one at least.

They didn't even know what the hell was that about as it happened, Daryl was half unconscious and she was too preoccupied about all the blood he lost.

But she couldn't say that, now that she got a no as an answer they would have to stick to Daryl's plan of escaping. And if they wanted to do that they needed to stay off the radar and just play along.

"Okay… you know, you are right. It's just that we are having a hard time adjusting. This is all so…" She tried to find the words, but she came up in blank.

"We know that being out there for so long can be rough and sometimes that takes a toll in relationships. That's why here at Eden we do everything we can to make you feel comfortable. Are you comfortable?"

Standing from the chair, Rosita tried to smile. "We are comfortable, just got a little homesick."

"We've noticed that you and Daryl are not exactly close and like I said, we want to make everything in our power to make this work. Could it be that you would rather let us get you another husband?"

"What?" Rosita guffawed, using her hands to grab the edge of the seat.

"You are young and pretty, finding a man who wants to provide for you would be no problem. We can find Daryl a new wife or if it's more to his liking he can dedicate his life to the crusades."

At the one Michelle dropped, Rosita opened her mouth but no words came out, she didn't know what to say. But knowing she needed to say something, anything, she shook her head and blurted the first thing that she could think of. "No, I… I'll keep Daryl."

"Good. I'll personally keep an eye on you to monitor your progress."

Taking that as her cue to go, she turned around and began to leave. But before she could take the first step, Michelle called for her.

"Rosita." Turning to her again, she just stared. "A woman's natural role is to be the pillar of her family and you are about to start yours. This is home now, make it work."

Biting her tongue, she nodded and after thanking the woman and receiving yet another bottle of wine to help Daryl and her 'bond', she left.

She walked straight into the room they were given and upon entering, first thing she noticed was Daryl packing some of the things they had gathered during the last couple of days and throwing them into a duffel bag.

Closing the door behind her back and then locking it, Rosita observed him. They hadn't been exactly on speaking terms as of late… hell, they had barely been in the same room for more than a couple of hours of total silence and uncomfortable tension since the kiss at the beach and she was unsure if she should break said silence to reveal the conversation she just had with Michelle.

She probably should as it did concern him too, but she was giving him the same silent treatment he has been giving her and she just refused to be the first one talking. She was stubborn like that.

If it was up to her, she would ignore him so bad until he would even doubt about his own existence, after all that was what he was doing to her and yeah, it bothered her.

He was acting as if whatever was going on between them was her doing, as if the kiss has been her fault even though they both knew he has been the one starting it. True, she played along and encouraged it to keep going, but he has been the one initiating it all and if he couldn't handle dealing with that then that was his problem.

So, decided not to say anything, she put the wine along with the other ones and started to make it towards the balcony. He never remained in the room with her once she would arrive so it was going to be a matter of nothing before she would be left alone again.

"Pack your things, we leaving tonight." He said as if talking to her was the most natural thing in the world. He didn't look at her though. "We only have this bag to keep it simple."

Cussing under her breath because she actually though she could remain without talking to him a while longer, Rosita chewed on her lips compulsively before deciding what to say.

"What about your wound?" She asked because she didn't know how it was healing. As stated before, they hadn't been talking. He has been staying out all night long for the last two nights doing only God knew what and by day, when she was about to leave for whatever job Michelle would assign her, he would show up and head directly to bed.

So no, she didn't know about his healing process. She didn't know what he had planned, she didn't know what was on his mind and she just didn't know anything.

"It's fine." Getting into the bathroom and closing the door, he said.

Rolling her eyes at how he kept acting around her, she started opening her drawers. She didn't have much, just the dresses Eden so kindly provided and she didn't want to take any of those. They were not good for the road so what she looked for was for the clothes she has been wearing when she came in.

Since they were clean, she would rather wear those. They were comfortable and more _her_.

Putting her things aside, she waited for Daryl to get out of the bathroom. Once he was out she took a few essentials and put them in the bag. That, along with some underwear and the few bottles of water and food she has been able to take out of the kitchen was all she had.

It was not enough to begin a journey into the unknown.

"We'll need guns or at least a couple of knives. Daryl, we can't rush into this, we need to be prepared for whatever is out there."

His back was to her, but she saw how he lifted a hand in the air before letting it fall to his side. "You can stay here playing church summer camp if you wanna but I ain't staying another day here."

Groaning, she bit down the urge of telling him that he didn't have to be such a jerk and sat down on the bed. "Fine, I'll somehow get us some knives since you obviously don't care about that."

He turned around and sending her a sideway glance, he opened one of his own drawers. From there he took out all the clothes he has been provided and from underneath them he took out three knives, and not just any ordinary ones, but hunting knives. There was also one small pistol.

"You in or what?"

Arching an eyebrow and fighting against the need to ask him where the hell did he got all that, she grabbed one of the knives and inspected it. It was sharp, it wasn't her machete but it would do. "Yeah, I'm in." That place was starting to give her the creeps and the sooner they would go the better.

"We have to swim our way around the breakwater so wear something light, no boots or heavy stuff. Everything we take along goes in the bag, everything. I'm gonna be out there when they change guards later on to throw it to the other side so put all your shit there. We'll be up all night so if you wanna shut your eyes you better do it now."

After the quick instructions, he waited for her to finish packing and then he went out. Probably to take care of the bag because he took it with him.

"Well here goes nothing." She mumbled with a shrug while realizing that it wasn't the first time they rushed into going away. That was exactly what they did when they left Alexandria and look at the mess they ended up with.

Now off they went again; she just hoped things wouldn't take a turn for the worse again.

Refreshing a little, she got ready. It was just before sunset when Daryl left so she tried to take a nap. It didn't work, and by the time he came back she has managed to get zero sleep. He did find her in bed though, and when he sat at the other side of the mattress and mumbled between clenched teeth that he got her something to eat she was actually surprised.

They ate in silence, each absorbed into their own thoughts. It was uncomfortable, whatever was going on between them was like the elephant in the room. They both knew it was there, but they refused to acknowledge it.

And it was a damn huge elephant. It created a tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife, and even though at times she thought that the whole thing was ridiculous and that she should just forget about it, the truth was that she couldn't.

At first it has been easy to push it to the back of her mind, first kiss they had was on her and she blamed it on alcohol. The second she let it go because it has been an asshole move on him to get rid of her, but the last one… that one has been on her mind since the moment it happened and as much as she would like to dismiss it as a fleeting thing of no importance, the truth was that she couldn't.

Daryl was just someone you couldn't unseen once you really saw him and reality was that after what happened she didn't know how to act around him.

She didn't even know if she wanted to act certain way around him. Maybe if she would be in a different frame of mind she would want to get rid of the tension the best way she knew how, by going full force after him and act upon the obvious unresolved attraction brewing between them.

But no, as tempting as that could be, it was something she didn't want at the moment. First because she didn't need to complicate things and second, because Daryl wasn't like any man she has ever known and that kind of intimidated her.

She wasn't even entirely sure if what was happening affected him somehow; she liked to think that it did because otherwise he wouldn't try so hard to ignore her. But at the same time she has always known him for being elusive so all he was doing could just be him being him

Who knew, the only thing she was sure of was that any other man wouldn't have wasted a minute to get into her pants and Daryl… well, he most certainly wasn't trying. That disconcerted her because even if it was a little bit, she was sure he also felt the attraction.

He wouldn't have kissed her like he did if he didn't feel it. She knew because he wasn't the kind of person who went around kissing women just because he could.

That was the thing about him, he was not only different… he was an enigma wrapped in a riddle box and that not only confused her, but it also kept her on her toes.

It was that and then it was the fact that he had this strong aura around him that seemed to call to her whenever he was near, adding that along with his hard to read mind and the memory of his lips on hers and that was it for her. She didn't feel like she was in control around him and she didn't like it.

But that was something she would have to deal with, after all she was not a high school girl with a crush but a woman with a good head on her shoulders…. At least most of the time.

Clearing her throat and shaking all those thoughts off her mind and focusing instead on what was important, she finished eating and decided to tell him what Michelle told him. He allowed her to talk without interrupting her and once she said every detail of the conversation, he agreed they would have to play along in case they ran into someone on their way to the beach.

Lucky for them they didn't, which was a good thing because having to play the loving couple with him was stretching things too far.

Once they made it to the beach, Rosita tilted her head towards the ocean and breathed into the salty scent of it. In the darkness of the night she couldn't see too far into the distance. The sea was a blank canvas extending into the horizon and for the first time since he told her about the plan, she started to become a bit anxious about the outcome.

Sure, the water look tranquil and serene, but if there was something she knew was that the sea was traitorous.

"So what now?"

Turning to her and settling his eyes on her face, he bit on his thumb. It was the first time he looked directly at her since the kiss and she wondered if it was because she asked him not to look at her a certain way. "Is the guard looking our way?"

Being subtle about it, she checked and yes, the guard was looking. "Yeah. Shouldn't he be looking at the other side? What's the point of-"

"Take off the dress."

Doing a double take, Rosita snorted. "What?"

She hadn't been expecting to ever hear those words from Daryl's mouth and that he said it so bluntly took her aback. She was no prude, sure, but it did surprise her.

Twisting his lips and shifting his eyes away for a second, he took in a deep breath. "He'll stop looking if he thinks we came here to make out."

She sighed, lowering her eyes for a second before going back to look at him. "I can't believe this." But she did as he instructed, pulling the dress off and kicking her shoes away.

Once in her undies, she shrugged. "He is still looking you know."

Clenching his jaw he went ahead and took of his shirt and despite herself her eyes got caught up on the way the muscles of his stomach stretched as he did it, she watched without saying a word, her eyebrows even raising when he also took off his pants and kicked them away along his shoes.

He ended up standing before her in just his boxers, and even thought she has seen men wear a hell of a lot less than that, she had to admit that she was impressed.

He looked good, there was no way of denying it. He was lean, his muscles were all in the right places and she specially appreciated his arms.

Unable to hold it, she hummed and the corners of her lips curved. "So do we start making out now?"

Her tone has been lighthearted, she was not serious but hey, she had to put it there just in case.

As a response he puffed out a breath, turning a little as if to throw his shirt away. But she knew he was doing it to look at the guard. When he turned back to her he motioned her to come closer and she did.

"Let's get in." Grabbing her hand, he guided her deeper, and as the ocean water started to reach her thighs she sucked in a breath a little too dramatically and tightened the hold. She even went ahead and intertwined her fingers with his.

"It's cold." Her voice came out strained but he said nothing.

Swallowing hard down, she trembled. She had goosebumps all over and she was definitely feeling overexposed. But he kept guiding her deeper, making her stomach clench as the cold water started to claim her all the way to her breast.

She didn't exactly like it, but since it had to be done she was about to tell him that they should start getting closer to the breakwater. But before she could even open her mouth he halted and used the hold he had on her hand to pull her to him.

She went to him easily, without thinking about it and before she knew it she was in his arms.

It happened quick and yet so unrushed, as if in slow motion. First she was by his side and now she was against him. In this new scenario he came to circle her with his arms and her chin ended up resting over one of his shoulders.

She said nothing to that and instead closed her eyes and sighed at the way his hands rubbed to her back and at how the closeness of his body provided a comfortable sense of warmness.

It was nice, and she was damn sure that if it wasn't because she was so cold she would be thinking about taking advantage of the situation.

After all they were wearing next to nothing and they were extremely close. So close that both their breathing and the beating of their hearts were in synchrony.

"Have you heard of the term hypothermia? Because I'm damn sure I'll go down with it before we reach the other side."

"Don't be such a cry baby, it ain't even that cold." He may have said that, but he started to rub a little harder and as a response her body molded even closer to his.

Blowing out a shaky breath, she moved her hands from where they had been trapped between their bodies and put them around him. She felt him tense at that and suddenly wanting to see his face, she pushed back a little and looked up to him.

In the water they were almost at the same height so she ended up looking straight into his eyes. He was looking back at her with that glint on his blue orbs that confused her and despite the cold, she felt a liquid warm sensation rushing down to her groin.

She didn't know how or when but somehow one of his legs ended up right between her own two legs and that along with his skin contacting hers and the way he was looking at her felt like a catastrophe approaching.

"Better?" He asked probably just to say something and she nodded.

He was still rubbing his hands to her naked back and every time they went over the hooks of her bra she wished for the damn thing to come undone just to see what he would do.

But that didn't happen. In fact nothing happened and they just remained there, sometimes looking at each other and sometimes looking away when the tension became palpable.

She didn't even dare moving her hands down his shoulders to see if the rest of his skin was as smooth as it looked as her fingers were itching to do.

So they did that for a couple of minutes, probably enough to give the impression to be making out and when the guard finally turned his back them to start doing what he was supposed to be doing, he cleared his throat and pulled away.

"Come on."

With the spell broken, she started swimming after him. As she did it she occasionally took a look back to see if the guard was looking. He never glanced their way again and when they reached and then went around the breakwater they had to swim within a safe distance not to be spotted. By the time they got to the other side she was no longer cold, her muscles were protesting and she was out of breath.

He didn't give her too much time to gather herself though. They needed to rush and get the duffle bag and the fastest they would do that the better.

That was how they began to move, like burglars using the darkness of the nigh as their ally. They did it that way because they needed to be careful with the task, last thing they needed was for the guard to see them or to run into walkers while unarmed and wearing just their underwear. Luckily they managed.

"I have sand all over." She commented as they finally reached the bag for Daryl to grab.

She was panting, and as she said that she looked down to confirm that she was indeed covered in sand. It stuck to her skin in a way that even when brushing it, it would not come off completely.

That little inconvenience was something she has forgotten about going to the beach at night, that and the sand flies that were now molesting her flesh and making her itch all over.

Grimacing at the discomfort and venturing to take a look at him, she noticed two things as she scratched along her arms. One was that he was also covered in sand and the other one was the way his underwear hung so very low on his hips.

It was covering what needed to be covered, but it didn't left much to her imagination and that definitely got her attention. Especially since the wet fabric of his boxers was plastered against every inch of him. If it wasn't because it was dark, she would have a better look but with what she had available, she did see a discrete outline of what was definitely his dick.

"Okay." She sighed while looking away. He has been busy rummaging through the contents of the bag so he didn't catch her checking him out, but now that he got what he wanted which were the knifes, she would rather be looking somewhere else. "I need to get this off before I peel my skin off scratching." Forcing her mind out of the gutter, she said.

"It does itches like hell." He said absentmindedly but not even once did he bother scratching. "Looks to me like they hype about the beach ain't all people say."

"Apparently." Using the palm of her hands to keep on trying to get the sand off, she noticed that there were more than a few red angry marks along her stomach and arms. Probably because of her nails abusing the spots in her attempts of alleviating the itch. "If we go far enough from the fence we can get into the water to take this off. There's no way I'll dress with this all over."

Probably because he was also uncomfortable, he didn't protest her logic and together they found a spot far enough not to be seen but also that appeared to be safe.

This time she went into the sea without any preambles, getting down on her knees once the water reached to her waist and using her hands to pour some of the cold liquid everywhere her skin was resenting the granular material known as sand. Her arms and chest, her stomach and neck and then her thighs. She even splashed some into her face because she was sure she got sand even in her mouth.

It felt better once she was able to take most of it off her skin and she actually sighed. As for Daryl, he was right behind her doing the same thing she was doing so turning to him she blinked slowly. "I got it all over my face, don't I?"

Lifting his head he looked at her face and then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world he used his thumb and dragged it against her skin, starting right under her earlobe and moving it to her jaw.

It seemed like something he didn't plan so she was going to assume he did it just to brush some sand off of her, there was really no other way to justify the touch.

"Thanks." She said almost in a whisper, wondering if they were forever going to ignore whatever it was happening between them.

At her words, his eyes went to hers and noticing that he had sand left on his chest she poured water over him and helped him get it off. That has been her only intention, but somehow what she ended up doing was closing the distance that separated them until she was close enough to kiss him.

Now, if she would have been asked later on why she did that, she would have to say that she didn't know because it was the truth. She acted out of an impulse, and by the time her mind registered what was happening her lips were already on his.

Now, the kiss was nothing rushed and nothing intense, it actually progressed slowly. First they shared a few open mouthed kisses as his arm circled her waist to pull her closer and then before she could put her own hands into use, his tongue was brushing against hers.

Realizing what she just started, Rosita broke away and looked up at him, for a few seconds that was all she did, but when he cradled the back of her head and leaned down to kiss her again, she let him do it and even kissed him back.

In a matter of nothing, his tongue was in her mouth, dancing against hers as his hands moved down to her hips. It felt kind of surreal so as if to make sure it was really happening she pushed against him and slid her hands up his arms.

And yes it was real, the sensation in the pit of her stomach as his fingers ran against the edge of her panties couldn't be imagined. Actually, what he was making her feel was so real that she had to hum against his mouth in appreciation.

As a response he kissed her deeper, lowering down until he ended up sitting and taking her down with him. She ended up straddling him, the water around her lapping against her skin as his hands settled against her ass.

Tilting her head to the left to change the angle of the kiss, she moved her hands to his chest, and when her hips grinded against his so that she could find the undeniable proof that he was enjoying the moment as much as she was enjoying it he actually pulled from the kiss and hissed.

"You couldn't just let it be, uh?" He said, his voice low and raspy and when Rosita believed that he had enough and that was going to bail as he always did, he used both his hands to fully grab the flesh of her ass and pulled her roughly against him.

The movement made his erection push hard against her sex and even though they were both wearing underwear, the contact send a shiver down her spine that made her arch against him and moan.

Capturing her lips back with his once again, he kissed her harder, his hands moving from where they had been to slide everywhere they could. He let his fingers move all over, up her spine and over her shoulders, they went into her hair and he even helped himself to her breast.

It was all happening too fast, she knew it, but even when half her brain was yelling at her to take a moment and think about everything that was going on, the other half was encouraging to keep things going.

It was this later half the one she was actually listening to, the one that made no protest when he grabbed for her panties and pulled them to the side, exposing her to him.

Sure, the disapproval of the most sensible part of her brain was still there, but the protests were so faint and irrelevant that she didn't even listen.

She could deal with regrets later on, she has become quite an expert when it came to that, but for now she just wanted to get drunk on sensation. She wanted him to take care of the ache between her legs and by the way things were going, she knew that would be no problem.

So, wanting to feel it all, she rotated her hips against him. With her privates exposed she could feel his hardness against her flesh, the fabric of his boxers feeling too rough as it brushed to her.

"Daryl-" She began to say after breaking from the lip lock and it sounded more like a plead than anything else. But she didn't say anything, she just opened her eyes and looked around.

They were a good three feet from the shore, and while there seemed to be no one around she still checked. The cost was clear, and the small movement she believed to have caught from the bushes was probably the breeze.

Not that she had much time to keep checking, because as her eyes squinted a little to get a better look she felt it, the contact of skin against skin as he liberated his erection from his underwear so it could spring free against her sex.

Putting her attention back to him, she clung to his neck as he accommodated her in such a way that he could push into her with a single thrust, his engorged member making way inside of her until it was completely settled.

The invasion made her gasp into his ear and without exchanging a word they began to move against each other.

It felt amazing, how he was filling her up, how he searched for her mouth to kiss long and deep and how his hands on her felt like little bolts of electricity making her tremble all over.

Then it was the way she was melting against him as he moved within her, how he burnt her groin in the most delicious way with every single thrust.

She came undone soon enough, her mouth open and breathing hard pressed to his but without kissing him. He held her through the high of her passion though, pressing a kiss to her mouth whenever she would moan a little too loud and refusing to stop fucking her.

"Oh my God." She hissed as he kept on.

Now, with the intensity of it all, it didn't take long for him to reach the brims of his own passion. She knew because he became erratic on his movements and because he let out a growl so low on his throat that it put all her senses on edge. By the time he came, shooting up deep into her and pressing her hard to him, she was breathless and spent.

For several seconds that seemed to have dragged into an eternity, they remained like that, without speaking and without moving. He was still inside of her as waves crashed softly against them and her brain, at least the part of it that was against all of what happened, wondered why the hell she let him finish inside of her.

But before she could come up with an answer to that she detected a noise coming from the bushes and all her senses picked up.

Daryl heard it too because he pulled immediately away from her and after putting his now limp member back to his boxers, he got to his feet and rushed to get the knives they left forgotten on the sand. "You heard that?" He asked and she nodded, fixing her underwear and actually using the sea water to clean up the mess he left into her.

Yes she heard it, but she couldn't see anything and deciding that it couldn't be walkers she got one of the knives. What if it was people from Eden looking out for them?

"What is it?"

As if in cue, two figures walked out of the bushes. They were armed but didn't seem about to fight them. In the darkness she couldn't distinguish them, but when her eyes got used to the image she saw something that made her walk in front of Daryl so she could push his gun down.

"Michonne?'

"I told you it was them." Came the voice of the woman and it took a moment to realize that the other person was Rick.

Standing a couple of feet away, the leader of their group used his hand to scratch his beard. "We got some visitors in Alexandria that claimed you were here and we came to the rescue. Seems we were not needed at all."

"Everything good home?" Daryl asked, his voice differing greatly from the one he used with her earlier on.

"Yeaaah… kind of." Rick said, dragging the word too long. "Why don't you two get… dressed so we can get the hell out of here?"

Nodding and pretty much sure Rick and Michonne got an eyeful of what happened with Daryl, Rosita chewed on her lips and reached for the bag. Yes, she never thought she would say this, but she did want to get home.

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Quick note! I was asked about a Daryl's POV so here it is. Now, if I haven't done this before it's because he is such a complex character and I know I will never do him justice. Here I'll just try to scratch the surface of him, let's say a bonus chapter just to get a quick glance at what's on his mind. Other than that enjoy and thanks so much for the reviews!

 **The Butterfly Effect**

Tapping his fingers impatiently against the worn out fabric of his pants, Daryl Dixon watched through half closed eyelids as the couple sitting in front of him talked quietly among themselves.

They had been at it for a while, scrutinizing every single word that has been said about the community him and Rosita just escaped and trying to decide what to do with the information.

They were even throwing ideas about how knowing about the weird place could benefit them when it came to Alexandria's eventual encounter with the so called Saviors, a group that was still menacing to disrupt the stablished peace they had worked so hard to achieve.

In any other occasion, Daryl would be giving his own take on the whole situation and he would probably be the first one motivating Rick to take whatever action in was that he wanted to take; but that night, in that moment, the last thing on his mind was plotting or even taking a step forward for the sake of his own community.

No, during that moment what his mind has been revolving around was the same subject that had taken a hold of a great deal of his waking hours as of late, Rosita.

To be more specific, what he was thinking right there was about what happened with said woman a couple of hours before and how the hell he did he let it get that far.

He still didn't know what to make of it, he just knew that hooking up wasn't something he was used to do and let alone with people of his own. It was a rule he had set upon himself since the very beginning of the outbreak and now here he was. Not only did he break his own sanction, but he also couldn't stop thinking about it.

It was just that somehow, someway, the woman has crawled under his skin and no matter what he did or how much he tried to ignore it, she always managed to impair his judgment.

She didn't even had to do something specific to achieve it, she just had to look at him in that way she had of setting her warm brown eyes on him and that was it; now because he let her get to him he ended up like that.

Confused.

He wasn't sure how it was that it all began. It sure as hell hadn't been when they made the stupid drunk decision of leaving Alexandria and it hadn't been after that first chaste kiss she gave him.

No, back then he was just… her, one of the girls from the people he considered his pack. She was probably the one he had the least interactions with but even though he didn't exactly knew her on a very personal level, he still considered her family.

So yes he had been aware of her, he was keen when it came to noticing things and the survivalist in him had paid attention on her abilities more than anything else. He knew that she could handle herself pretty decently in any situation and that was enough to think she was reliable; he also knew she was feisty, that she could pack an attitude and that even though she was level headed most of the time, she would also act out on her impulses whenever she became emotional.

And yeah, because he wasn't blind and she was quite a looker, the man in him also noticed _her_. It hadn't been much more than an appreciative glance a time or two though, because as he took pride in, he wasn't the kind to be chasing girls when he had more important shit to do, like keeping himself and those around him alive.

She has been just someone who was there and to that day, it still eluded him how they ended up drinking themselves into a stupid stupor that lead them to be in the situation they were now.

It was something that just happened.

Now, whatever it was that was happing, it didn't start before their journey and that first kiss hadn't done more than annoy him. Their thing, whatever it was came up later, probably since they got in the coffin because even though it hadn't hit him that hard then, it did prompt him to kiss her.

"So Daryl." Rick began to say and lifting his head a little, he hummed.

Shifting where he sat, he also brought his thumb to his mouth and began to chew on it absentmindedly.

"What's the deal with Rosita?"

Looking in the direction Rosita disappeared into a couple of minutes before and glad that she wasn't there to hear Rick nosing into their business, he lifted a hand and made a gesture for the other man to stop.

"Rick." Michonne said in a warning tone while elbowing him.

"What, I'm just asking him a question."

"Just drop it man." Daryl groaned because really, last thing he wanted was to discuss something he didn't even understand.

He has never been a fan of talking about his shit anyway and he wasn't just going to start now.

Besides, what was there to say? That while they were in Eden he has needed to stay away because he knew he would screw things up, that he ended fucking it up anyway?

Or maybe he could man up and admit that he didn't know what to make of all of it. He could probably mention how back at the beach he ended up saying a big fuck it and hoped that giving into her even if it was once would help him get her off his mind.

Because that has been what happened, the only problem was that it didn't work and now he couldn't stop thinking about how she easily gave herself to him with so much abandon; now he wanted more.

All that was something he was not going to say, it was cheesy as fuck and definitely not something he would admit out loud.

"Alright." Running a hand down his face, Rick snorted and shook his head . "Well whatever it is just know that back in Alexandria there are a couple of the guys butting heads over her. Spencer who wanted to come searching for her once we realized you two were missing and Abraham whom didn't quite like Spencer running his mouth saying he was with Rosita."

At that information, Daryl's attention picked up and he looked at Michonne as if to confirm what Rick just said.

"We can't take for granted what Spencer says, we all know he is a stupid fool. And I don't know what to say about Abraham so I'll keep my mouth shut."

Chewing on his lips, Daryl leaned back. Sure, he always suspected Rosita wanted to get out of Alexandria as a way to get away from the drama with Abraham and Sasha and that was one of the other reasons he wanted to keep away, because being a rebound guy was the last thing he wanted to be, but what he hadn't know was that there was another man in the mix.

He hadn't seen that one coming.

"Just watch it man, I don't think she is the kind of woman for you. She'll eat you alive before you know it."

"That is the most chauvinist thing I've heard you say, I can't believe you." Michonne said and actually punched the leader of their group in the arm.

Rick laughed it off, but when all of a sudden Rosita walked in, carrying a couple gallons of water and a pissed off expression on her face, he became serious all of a sudden.

No one said anything and Daryl watched as she dropped the gallons right before Rick before rolling her eyes and turning around to leave the same way she came in.

"See what you did?" Michonne hissed. "You better apologize Rick Grimes or I swear…"

"Yeah, I know." The man said, scratching behind his ear and closing his eyes. He did look regretful, but because Daryl wanted to make things clear, he leaned forward and spoke.

"Tell you what, I don't get in your shit, never had and never will so don't get in mine." With that said he got up and left as well.

He didn't go after her though, they hadn't actually exchanged a word since Rick and Michonne found them at the beach and he wasn't sure if he wanted to talk to her while his brain was a mess.

That was why he roamed the building they had taken refuge in, as a way to evade her, but he also did it to double check that it was clear of walkers and to search it out in case there was something worth taking back into Alexandria.

Keeping himself occupied was the best cure for a wandering mind, that was how he managed in Eden, by figuring out how to get the hell out. He would stay up all night long studying the possible ways of escaping and once he built the plan and got a few knives he grabbed his shit, got Rosita and went through with it.

Now, doing that did help him escape, but it did shit about Rosita, in fact it made it worse.

Now he didn't now how to approach or if he even wanted to. Women… they had never been something he completely understood. Yes, he liked them, he had his fair share of them but always from a distance.

The way he lived his life before everything went to shit and the dead started raising was like this, he was a drifter, he was never in a place too long and he couldn't remember ever being in a long term relationship.

Hell, he couldn't even remember being with the same woman more than twice or ever having the desire to.

He has been too messed up for more than that. Through all his adult life and most of his youth he has been prey of a never-ending cycle of self-loathing that wouldn't let him connect and probably because of that his take on sex was just something he needed from time to time and when he did he would just get it.

That was it, no strings attached, no drama, no feelings.

It was how he wanted it, because the only feeling that he knew besides biting back down at the anger that consumed him was that nagging sensation of knowing that he was worth shit and no, people like him had no right of trying to fit in.

That has been life for him before. It was better now and actually, he was probably the only person in the world who has thrived from all that has happened because it was only after the walkers started to show up that he, little by little started to crawl out of the darkness of his mind.

It was with Rick and the rest of their group that he started to fit in, if was with them that he found his place and started to get comfortable in his own skin.

Sure, he still had issues, as did everybody, but it was better than before.

But then came Rosita, reaching places in him no one has ever reached before, making him crave things he never knew he needed and some of the old feelings started to resurface. He wanted her, he wasn't even going to deny it, but going back to his old mindset he didn't think he was worthy, he didn't feel like he was enough and until he could figure out what was going with him again he wanted to keep a distance.

But because destiny always had a way of fucking with him, he ended up running into her. He walked through a hallway that was supposed to take him to the other side of the structure and there she was, sitting over a chest freezer and looking out through a huge window pane that overlooked the back of the building itself.

It was full of walkers, but because they were on a third floor and the dead on ground level, he didn't even pay them attention.

As for Rosita, he knew she saw him walk in so turning around to head out wasn't an option so sucking it up he walked to her and sat by her side.

The freezer wasn't too big so they ended up sitting way too close, their arms and hips pressing; it was as they were like that that he noticed the pout on her lips.

It was an angry one no different than the one she always had on her face because if there was something about Rosita, it was that she always looked pissed.

Or at least it has been like that ever since Abraham gave her the boot.

"Is it true, about Spencer?"

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw as she turned her face to him and set her our eyes on him.

"If you want to know if I slept with him then yes. Anything else you need to know?"

And yes, she was pissed. He almost had her all figured out and he knew her petulant tone to be the one she used when she was mad.

What he didn't know was why she was angry when she has been the one playing her games on him and Spencer too. And what was worse was that as he had suspected since the beginning, she played her game just to get back at Abraham or most probably as a way to get over him.

Apparently it worked, because according to Rick Abe was already mad about his ex 'moving on' and who knew what would happen with those two once they got back home.

It didn't make him mad though. He knew there was going to be a catch and yes, he had kind of expected something like that to come up. After all women like Rosita didn't usually went for men like him; Spencer was more her type, pretty boy and all. Abe too, because even if he was an asshole he was someone people took notice off.

Him, he was no one.

He still didn't understand why or how she has taken that brief interest in him though.

"So you two together then?" He asked, wanting a cigarette very bad in that moment.

Rosita snorted and licked her lips. "No. What happened with him was a mistake. I wasn't in a good place mentally and you know, shit happens."

"Same as with me?" He looked at her when he asked that because he wanted to see how she reacted.

Blinking slowly, she licked her lips. It was an habit that she had and probably wasn't even aware of. He knew because he has seen her do it way too many times now and as of late it only made him want to kiss her. "It's not the same."

"Why not?" He wanted to know, whatever it was that she could say he could take it.

How bad it could be? She could say she only wanted sex and he would get it. She had an itch so she scratched it. He had wanted it to and back at the beach he even thought fucking her would end the tension already. After all, whenever he has wanted sex he would have it and then the need would be gone.

It didn't happen like that with her.

At the question, she blew out a breath and went back at looking out through the window. It was already close to dawn and she looked tired, after all they had been up all through the night.

"Have you ever been in a place where you think you are not good enough, when some one makes you feel like that?"

He said nothing, and luckily, she didn't wait for him to reply.

"After Abraham I was feeling like that so I don't know, I guess I just needed some kind of validation that there could be someone that wanted me like Abe didn't or something like that and he was there. I don't know what else to say. It was stupid, but it was a one time thing."

Nodding, he pushed the inside of his cheek with his tongue. "And why is that different than your thing with me?"

"I don't know, it just is. It wasn't stupid and I sure ass hell don't regret it." She shrugged and then she snorted, pushing her hair out of her face.

After their little adventure at the beach her usually smooth locks were all wavy and untamed. That along with the subtle sunburn she acquired from their days in Eden gave her a carefree look that he liked more than what he should.

"Look, I know what you think and maybe you and Rick are right; I'm not good enough and I'm a fucking mess and all you want to think of me; but I was not playing with both you and Spencer. I get why you think I was and I'll understand if you don't want to talk to me again after this but I just need you to know that it wasn't like that."

His eyes were set on hers and when she faced him he ended up digging deep into her chocolate colored orbs. "I don't think you ain't good enough." In fact that she would say that took him aback.

He was just an old redneck, he had more than ten years on her and well, she wasn't just the kind of women who took notice of him. If there was someone who wasn't worth it there it was him.

"Oh come on, you are _Daryl_ , everyone worships the ground you walk on while I'm just… Abraham's bitter ex. Now after Spencer they'll think I'm a slut too."

"I don't think you are a slut." He has known sluts and he has always done his best not to get with those ones. Sluts and hookers were the reason why his brother ended up with the clap and he didn't just take Rosita to be the kind.

He has even done something he has never done before with her and that has been not wrapping it up and he definitely wouldn't have done that if he thought her to be the kind.

True, he also went bareback because he had nothing on him at the moment but it was what it was. It wasn't like he carried condoms with him while killing walkers. Besides Abraham himself told him he would always double up on protection when he was with Rosita and even though he always believed the man to be giving up information he didn't need to know, it was something that rushed back to him back at the beach.

He didn't even doubt she was clean and it was actually something that wasn't bothering at the moment, it was the fucking end of the world after all.

So yeah, Rosita was definitely no saint nor perfect but who was?

"Well… thanks, I guess." She rolled her eyes and he didn't know if her come back was sarcastic or not.

"What happened at the beach, you did it to get back to Abe?"

"No. I'm over him."

"Then why?'

She shrugged. "I don't know, Daryl. It wanted it to happen. I wanted you. I think it was something that was building for a while and you know, it had to happen. Wasn't it something you wanted?"

He considered for a while what he was going to say and decided to keep it simple. "You know I did."

Her hand reached for his and he let her take hold of it, their fingers lacing together. They didn't say anything for a while and even though the feeling was a new one to him, it didn't feel awkward.

But still, there were things he needed to solve in his mind. "I think I told you I ain't one to do relationships. I don't like shitting where I eat either; I hate drama too and you, you are way to dramatic." He got that with the hissy fit she threw on him early on their journey.

"I know, and I told you I was done with love and hooking up with assholes and you… you are an asshole." She squeezed his hand slightly as if to let him know she wasn't all the way serious. "But you know…"

"Shit happens." He ended her sentence.

"Yes. So are we cool?"

Lowering his glance to her lips before returning them to her eyes, he shrugged. "Sure." He couldn't tell why but he would always end up looking at her inviting mouth and apparently, after all the kissing they did at the beach he still found them appealing.

"Okay." She licked at her lips and smiled. It was the first actual smile she flashed her way and he had to eye her down in distrust.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm tired." With her free hand she ran a hand down her face and sighed. "And I do stupid things when I'm tired too so you better go now."

Letting go of her hand and sliding off the freezer, he made as to walk away but before he could take one step away she called out for him.

"Daryl."

"Hmm."

"Don't be a stranger okay."

He sucked his lips into his mouth and nodded, then as if moved by a mysterious force he leaned into her and kissed her.

Apparently, he was also one to keep doing stupid things as well.

He didn't know why he did that, why he kept doing that but when her hands buried into his hair to keep him in place he deepened the kiss and even grabbed her by waist, pulling her to him so she would slide closer.

He ended up comfortably right between her legs and moving his hands to her hips, he settled them there.

They kiss didn't last as long as the ones at the beach, but as his tongue searched for hers he couldn't help but to think that this was also something he wasn't used to, kissing. It was something he didn't thought necessary before but ever since her it was something he has come to like. In fact, he liked it a little too much and that wasn't what he was aiming for in that moment.

So, pulling away he took a step back and watching as she licked her lips after his kiss, he did the same. "Go get some rest, in a couple of hours we'll be heading back home."

"Okay." She jumped to her feet and while she walked away, she sent him another smile. He nodded, his lips curving but not quite smiling himself. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah." He said but she was gone before he could say something more.

And yes, he guessed they were going to be seeing each other later on. After all they were going to be heading together to the same place. Now it was to be seen what was going to happen in Alexandria and what were they going to find out there…

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

She was tired. So extremely tired that she could barely keep her eyes open. In fact, she could even feel them burning in their sockets, silently protesting the lack of sleep they were enduring and as a way to keep them from shutting, she rubbed them with the back of her hand.

She didn't want to fall asleep, at least not right away. First because they were less than half an hour away from Alexandria and second, because what Rick was saying interested her and she wanted to listen.

Besides she already got a couple of catnaps during their journey back home, a few minutes here and there where she dozed off while sitting in the backseat of the car Rick was driving.

True, they were not enough for her system to operate at full capacity but she would have to manage. She would sleep once she was on her own bed and as she was feeling, she was going to sleep straight into next day.

Until then she was trying to focus on what was being said and even though at times she would space out and then snap back awake after a couple of seconds, she was following the conversation well enough.

From what she got, while she and Daryl were away, Glen had to rush towards The Hilltop after Maggie started feeling ill. He took her away and as of yet they hadn't come back, Carol disappeared, Morgan too and as recently as the previous day Dwight and Sherry showed up with news about Daryl and herself being at Eden.

They also claimed they were willing to help Alexandria take The Saviors down and that was what they were talking about in that moment.

"This is what we are going to do until we figure it all out. I'll put Alexandria on lock-down, that means nobody goes out. That includes you two so no more monkey business, okay?"

Rosita didn't reply to that and when she looked at Daryl, she saw that he was just looking out the car's window while leaning against it.

He wasn't saying anything either; last she remembered him speaking was to say he didn't think Dwight was trustworthy and then he and Rick engaged in a little back and forth that she couldn't follow for the life of her.

It was actually ridiculous how she couldn't focus and it came into her mind that some people said being sleep deprived was the same as being drunk; in that moment she believed it.

"We will need however someone to go to The Hilltop to both check on Maggie and tell her and Glen not to come here, I want her safe."

"I'll go."

That has been Daryl and at his words, her eyebrows arched and she even straightened her posture so she could have a better look at him.

She couldn't get much because even if they were sharing the backseat of the car, he was still looking out the window and his face wasn't visible from her vantage point.

Now it was true that she wasn't clear where were they standing when it came to each other since Daryl was hard to read. He pushed and pulled constantly, but after what happened at the beach and then their talk right after it, she thought they were heading the right direction.

Yeah the conversation has been kind of cryptic, they didn't agree on anything and she sure as hell hadn't been expecting a happily ever after where they were going to walk hand in hand towards the rainbow smiling and happy.

No, that wasn't what she believed was going to happen and it wasn't what she wanted; she wasn't an idealist or a dreamer and she was well aware that reality has harder than that, but she has been expecting at least that he would stick around a little while and that maybe they could tip-toe around whatever it was that was going on between them.

Apparently, that wasn't at all what he wanted because the first chance he got he tried to put as much distance as he could between them.

Sure, yeah… that he volunteered didn't necessarily mean that he was doing it because of her and it would be pretentious to even suggest it, but somehow, someway, she believed he was doing it as a way to evade her.

"No, I need you here. Specially if we are going to work with Dwight."

"I told you I ain't gonna work with him."

Before they could once again start with the same argument, Rosita rolled her eyes and leaning forward she interrupted them.

"I can go then. I can move fast when I'm on my own so I'll just need you guys to tell me the way. I won't even need a car so I won't draw attention either."

This time it was Daryl the one who looked at her, she could see him out of the corner of her eyes. She still kept her own head facing forward, away from his.

Now, she offered but it wasn't because of him; she would have done it in any other occasion because that was what she did. She wasn't going to let what happened interfere with who she was and who knew, maybe he offered for the same reason.

After all he has always been the kind too.

"Nah, I need you here too. We need everyone capable of defending Alexandria to stay inside the gates."

Sighing and letting herself fall back against the seat, she crossed her arms to her chest and finally looked at the man sitting by her side.

His eyes were still fixed on her but he wasn't speaking. "Seems like we're on time out."

At that, Daryl snorted. "Yeah."

His features softened and unable to stop herself, she smiled. Then with another roll of her eyes she tore her gaze away from him and bit on her lips.

Yes, she liked him and maybe even wanted him, but she shouldn't be pushing for anything between them because as she stated, she didn't want to get involved with anyone, as tempting as exploring things with him may seem.

She should keep on her lane and thinking that was the best, she closed her eyes.

A few more minutes after that they were finally at Alexandria and taking Daryl off the equation, she wanted nothing more than sliding into her bed and shut her eyes.

It was long due. Maybe she would wake up refreshed and with her mind clear.

Once Rick parked the car outside they all got out and made it to the gate. It was still early and because the sun was shinning hard on them, she didn't look up to see who was on guard duty.

She didn't even pay attention to the one who opened the gate and instead turned to Daryl.

So much for keeping to her lane, she thought.

"Hey." She said once he was about to walk pass her. He stopped and quirked his lips. She wanted to say something, anything, actually, but because they had an audience she just limited herself to what was safe. "I'll have to take the stitches in a few days."

"Alright." He said and just when she was sure he was going to tell her something more, Rick called him. He just nodded at her as he left.

Sighing, she watched as he walked away.

"He's going to take him to Dwight. You think he'll take it good?"

Rosita snorted and eyed Michonne. She has been silent during their trip and other than making Rick apologize for the comment he threw about her earlier on, she has been maintaining herself on the side.

"Oh he's going to be pissed. It wouldn't surprise me if they ended up in a fistfight."

"He's helping you know, Dwight, says he has intel on The Saviors that could help us take them down. He also told us how to get to you."

Shrugging, Rosita lifted her hand and then dropped it to her side. "He stabbed Daryl, he could've bled out. Besides if we ended up in Eden it was because he made it happen so don't even try to make me go soft on him. As for telling you where we were?" She shrugged once again. "That was for nothing because it was Daryl and me the ones who got ourselves out."

For a couple of seconds Michonne just stared at her through half closed eyelids. She stared back.

"You and Daryl have gotten real close."

It wasn't a question but a statement, Rosita got it and as a response she just blinked a couple of times. What could she say to that when she wasn't even sure what was happening with them?

But not wanting to come off as a rude, she kept it simple. "I wouldn't say real close, just normal."

The other woman nodded. "I've known Daryl for a while now and he is either close to you or he isn't. I even spent a couple of weeks with him on the road searching for a guy called the Governor so trust me, I know Daryl Dixon and I can say without a doubt that I've never seen him act as he is acting with you… so I'll say this whatever it is that you have is more than normal."

Now even though Rosita was sure that Michonne along with Rick had seen her and Daryl at the beach, she decided to just play dumb.

"I don't see that he is acting any particular way towards me." And he really wasn't, at least not in public. He has barely spoken to her in front of Michonne and Rick so what she was saying made no sense.

"To start, he went off with you out of the blue and with no particular reason. Daryl doesn't do that."

Not knowing where Michonne wanted to get, Rosita scratched the back of her neck and breathed in. "Well what can I say, we were both drunk and clearly thinking out of our asses."

Smiling knowingly as if Rosita just proved a point, Michonne tapped her lips with the tip of her index finger.

"Look, what the two of you do or do not do is not my business, but because I appreciate that asshole so much I'll tell you this; if, and only if there is something there you really want to pursue, be patient with him."

Rosita twisted her lips and crossed her arms to her chest. She was listening.

"He's not like the other guys and even if you see him all rough around the edges and with that chip upon my shoulder attitude, deep inside he's a softy. When he cares he cares with everything that he has so right off the bat I'll tell you he's one of the good ones and trust me, he deserves the world. The only problem he has is that he doesn't think he deserves it and I think that's why he carries that pissed off attitude around. He'll probably want to push you away for that same reason, that's why you need to be patient."

She took a moment before going on.

"So the same way I told you all that I'll tell you this; If you don't mean to make something good out of him then just leave him alone. Don't talk to him, don't go to him and don't make him believe something that's not real. I mean it Rosita, so think on what you really want to do before doing it."

With that said, Michonne was gone, leaving the younger woman standing there, a little confused because she wasn't sure if she has been threatened or not.

She was probably going to need some sleep before she could wrap her mind about what just happened so she headed into her place and went straight into her room.

She fell asleep as she was and when she woke up after several hours it was late in the afternoon. The sun was starting to hide in the horizon and as she tried to make herself more presentable by taking a shower and washing her hair, night already fell upon Alexandria.

By then her mind was focused and even though a little groggy, she was clear about what she wanted to do.

That was how she made it outside her house and walked into the chilly night, determined, and because she didn't want to be noticed by running into people, she did it quickly.

She didn't really paid much attention to her surroundings as she walked so she didn't see the man lurking in the shadows watching her every step and she definitely didn't notice the dark look he sent her way as she crossed the porch into another house and made it inside.

Rosita didn't even knock, in this new world they were living in now, those things were not really necessary, especially in their group so that she walked in unannounced didn't even felt odd.

It wasn't the first time anyway.

Now, what was really new was walking upstairs and straight towards the rooms. She has never felt the need to pay any of the residents there such a personal visit before. No, in fact, she didn't even know which one was his room, if any.

She didn't know if he was there either.

Fortunately, as she walked down the corridor she focused on the only one door open and when she walked close and peered inside she saw him there.

He was in bed but he wasn't sleeping and as if sensing her presence, he put down the book he has been skipping through and frowned. Apparently he hadn't been expecting her.

"Hey."

He lifted his head her way and blinked, not saying anything and she remained where she was, under the doorframe.

"Heard you were going to see Dwight and I wanted to see how that went."

Shrugging, he fixed his eyes on hers. "I'm still in one piece so…"

"So I see, but how about him?" Not that she really cared, but at least it was something to talk about.

"Asshole got less than what he deserved, but just cuz Rick wanted me to play nice." He scoffed and with his head, he motioned her to look over a small dresser where his crossbow was. "Got that back. Bike too."

"Good." Licking her lips and then sucking them into her mouth, she dared walking inside. She touched the weapon, sliding a finger over it before keeping her march towards his bed.

She sat on the corner of the mattress but close enough to reach him if she wanted to and because he was looking at her as if he expected her to attack him or something, she snorted.

"So what do you think will happen now?"

"I don't know."

She nodded, and it came into her mind how they were going around each other as if they were walking on thin ice. It was kind of silly, they were both adults and she was pretty much sure they wanted the same thing so why beat around the bushes?

"Why you came here?" He finally asked, his hand going to his chin so that his fingers could smooth his facial hair.

Blowing out a breath, she lowered her eyes for a second. She could tell him so many answers to that question, but none would make justice to what she wanted. She has never been good with words so she wanted to show him instead.

That was why after lifting her eyes back to his, she leaned forward and kissed him.

Now, the kiss was nothing more that her lips pressing to his, it was soft and maybe even sweet, and it wasn't until his hand moved to the nape of her neck and her head angled the right way that it deepened.

It went like that for a short while, her own hand reaching for him and bringing him closer. But before they could go further than that his door busted open and they both jumped in surprise, the kissed ending abruptly.

"Hey Daryl look wh- oh I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Rosita didn't have to look to recognize Carl's voice and she just pressed her hand to her lips and closed her eyes.

Next she heard was the door being closed.

For some reason that made her laugh and she used the same hand she had pressed to her mouth to suppress the sound.

"That ain't funny."

"I know, I'm sorry." She took in a deep breath and opening her eyes she lowered her hand to her neck. "It was awkward."

He was looking at her with a mixture of amusement and embarrassment that made her smile and she wondered what would he do if he suspected as her that Carl walking on them kissing wasn't the only time a Grimes saw them in action.

"Come here." She said and even though she didn't really think he was going to, he did, he leaned into her and went back at kissing her.

Lifting a little so that she could be even more close, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her tongue sought for his and he complied, making them brush into her mouth as his arm wrapped around her too.

The kiss was slow, he pushed pass her lips and explored thoroughly, making her head spin with sensation, and as it went on and she kissed him back, he reached for the edge of her shirt and pulled it over her head.

That was the first piece of clothing that went off but it wasn't the last, and almost without breaking away everything else was taken off and tossed aside.

They did not talk through it, Rosita because her head was spinning and Daryl probably because he was concentrated; but they did touch and fooled around and when she finally found herself laying on her back while he accommodated the weight of his body against hers she gasped.

Daryl... she wanted to say his name but his lips were demanding, they were not giving her chance to do anything that was not kissing him back and she obliged.

She wouldn't know how to explain it but just with the way he was kissing her, he was provoking a sea of sensations to run all through her body. The feeling of him, hard and closely pressed against her was almost too much to bear and she knew she was going to be a goner early in the game.

Yeah, this wasn't the first time they did had sex, but there was a certain novelty over the whole thing because in the position they were now she could feel all of him, and his skin pressing to hers made her all hot and bothered.

Wanting to touch him, she slid her hands down the skin of his back, but before she could get a good feel of him he grabbed for her hands and pinned them above her head.

For a moment the kiss was broken and he just stared into her eyes, delving deep and making the moment feel almost obscene.

And it was obscene in that delicious intimate way lovemaking would bring. After all he was hard, very much naked and pressed closely against her as she circled his hips with her legs.

She was also wet and swollen for him so biting her lips she pushed against him, making his erection press against her. "I want you… so bad." She whispered, wanting to touch him but unable to because he was still holding her hands.

"Yeah?" He whispered back and after his words were out he was once again kissing her, harder this time, more demanding.

So they kissed, bodies rubbing against one another until he finally slipped inside of her to claim her once again as his.

It felt amazing, the way his body rocked against her and into her as he swallowed her moans with his kiss.

It was intense, her hands restricted above her head made her feel desperate. Desperate for more, desperate to touch him and to tell him how good he felt inside of her; but as he moved within her all she could do was kiss him back and push against him, wanting to take all of him.

As what to be expected it didn't take long for her body to succumb to him and as his thrusts kept going strong her release washed over her, making her trash underneath him.

As she rode the delicious wave she felt him tremble against her and she assumed he was close as well; with that in mind she tightened her legs around him and pushed him deeper until he broke from the kiss and with his eyes fixed onto hers he pressed his forehead against to hers.

She felt him, his body tensing inside of her as he flooded her with his essence… she felt all of him at once, her eyes fixed on him. His lips parted and his breathing ragged made her want to hold him but because she couldn't she just watched him.

Once the momentum dwindled down he let go of her hands and this time they went to the back of his head. Her fingers ran through his hair and her head pushed forward to give a slight bite to his lower lip, pulling it into her mouth so that her tongue could run over it.

"Daryl…" She began to say but before she could finish he pressed her lips against hers.

"Don't say anything."

She didn't, and when he pulled out and made to go away she grabbed him back to her and made him lay on her side. She wasn't going to let him pull away from her completely, not at all.

They fell asleep like that, his arm lazily wrapped to her waist and head resting on his chest, both unaware of everything the day that lay ahead was going to bring.


	9. Chapter 9

Feeling slightly disoriented as he blinked his eyes open, Daryl Dixon stirred. As he did so, he emitted a low growl of discomfort that felt like it was torn out of the back of his throat and then he slowly started to crawl out of the tranquil state of sleep he has been submerged until a second ago.

Waking up was gradual, first he opened his clear blue colored eyes into slits and then his brain started to function… a collage of images that seemed too unreal to be true dancing inside his head.

The only thing was that… they weren't unreal; the images invading his mind were actually little bits of memories of something that was very real.

"Shit." He rasped out of the blue when he realized that his entire arm was tingling, the nagging sensation running all the way from his shoulder and right to the tip of his fingers.

It was annoying as hell and when he tried to flex his fingers, the discomfort only grew stronger.

Groaning and closing his eyes, he breathed in, little by little realizing that his arm was trapped under a body that wasn't his own and thus the reason the limb fell asleep on him.

"Great." He complained groggily to himself but he left the arm where it was and waited for the feeling to fade away on its own.

Now, he had woken up disoriented but by now he was more up to date with what was going on and without having to take a look at her, he knew that the body laying over his arm was Rosita's.

Who else could it be anyway? He didn't need to look at her to know, by then he could recognize the soft aroma of her anywhere, anytime and he detected it all over the room. It mingled with the unmistakable murky scent of sex so that told him all he needed to know.

He could also blindly identify the warm frame pressing against him to be hers because somehow, his body and all his senses had quickly gotten a hang of all that was hers. The smell and taste of her, how her skin felt pressed to his, how she looked… the soft moans that came out of her as he pounded into her.

What he didn't understand and what momentarily took him aback was the fact that she was still there.

Frowning and opening his still sleepy eyes, he was greeted by the sight of the back of her head a few inches lower from his lips, her dark hair spilling all over his pillow.

She was sleeping, that much he could tell and he wondered how the fuck did they end up sleeping together. Yeah, he remembered with great detail what happened in that room between them the previous night but not even for a second did he consider that the woman was going to spend the night there.

That was something he didn't even considered because it was a first for him, and now that it happened he didn't know what to do with her.

Fuck, he didn't even know what to do with the whole thing and part of him was telling him that what was happening was not going to end well for him.

He was letting her get too much power over him. Yes, the fucking was good, a basic necessity he has been denying himself for far too long and that his body wanted more was natural, he guessed. But more than satisfying a carnal necessity, he was letting her do with him as she wanted and that wasn't good.

That she came and got what she wanted was bad, but to top that off she stayed and that was something he really shouldn't be encouraging. But at the same time… he liked it…

He didn't get what was it that she was doing to him.

Swallowing down, he bit the inside of his cheek and tried to think about the whole thing.

So she was there… after they screwed she either decided to stay or she fell asleep on him. Not that he should complain much, after all he had to admit that tingling arm and all, it felt nice to wake up to a naked Rosita basically in his arms.

It was one of those things he didn't know he needed until he had it; like their encounter earlier on, seeing Rosita in his room was something he never imagined experiencing or even wanting, but as soon as he saw her at his door with that look in her eye that screamed trouble he knew he was doomed.

Back then he knew he should be sending her out while telling her to never bother him again, but the thing was that he didn't because he wanted her and look where that lead him.

Now it was what it was. Blinking slowly, for a few prolonged minutes all he did was lay there, breathing into her scent while his fingers drew lazy circles around her hip bone.

Being there like that… with her should feel weird and he knew it, after all the nature of whatever was going on between them was like nothing he has had before. He still didn't get it and half expected the woman to come into her senses anytime now and realize that he was something she didn't really want.

In fact, he has been genuinely surprised of her visit because he has been so damn sure that now that they were back in Alexandria and that she had more credible options to chose from, that everything was going back to the way it was before and that their interactions were going to be reduced into nothing.

He has been okay with that because it was how life worked for him. He could want something but he probably would never get it and he was sure the same would happen with her.

But then things happened… he didn't know why but she came to him and he played along whatever game it was that she was playing with him.

And it wasn't like he could help it, it was as if there was some kind of magnetic force pulling him to her. He didn't want it and he didn't understand it, but the thing was that it was there whether he liked it or not.

The question was what should he do with what he had. Should he cut things cold turkey before she would do it herself or should he just let things run their own course?

His mind knew the answer, it knew that she was a distraction that was going to end up being the end of him; but his body… that one was another matter that didn't care.

Breathing out, Daryl moved his arm from her hip and dragged it down to her thigh before slowly pulling her even closer against him.

Her body easily gave in and in a matter of nothing he had had her glued to him, her back perfectly molding to his torso and her ass pressing against his groin. She was so close now that if he decided to, he could upturn her ass to him a little more and all it would take him to take residence inside of her would be a hard push.

It would be easy, with this new level proximity he was half hard already and that's all he needed.

Through all that, the black-haired woman didn't even stir and feeling more awake than ever, he breathed into the scent of her hair and mumbled under his breath. "Hey."

Nothing… the only movement he could detect from her was her soft breathing and nothing more. He could do anything… anything and she wouldn't find out until he was already inside of her, moving within her and searching for release.

He kind of wanted to do it, he wanted to see her reaction of waking up with his cock buried deep inside of her and besides, couldn't this be the last time he was going to indulge into her? If it was going to be that way, then he needed to make the best of it.

Still undecided but feeling kind of restless, he slid his tingling hand from underneath her and made it go on the move; it slid up her hip, down the curve of her waist and along her ribcage. His touch was soft but secure and when his fingers found themselves venturing into the valley of her breast, he took his time feeling her around.

Her flesh was soft and inviting, of that there was no doubt and for a second he played with the idea of turning her around so he could touch her with his lips instead of with his hands.

He didn't do that and enjoying the soft texture of her skin, he just slid his hand back to her hip and sucked into his mouth the corner of his lip. "Rosita…" He called, but when there was no response he just pushed his hips against her.

By now he was as hard as he was going to get and feeling overcome with a desire that was hard to control, he lowered himself a little bit, accommodating himself in a way that his erection was nestled between her warm folds.

The position was a bit inconvenient but not hard to conquer, so lifting her left leg slightly, he slowly gave that ultimate push until he slowly started to slide right in.

Now, he could have done it in one single thrust, but he wanted to take his time and with the calm of those who live in no hurry, the bowman slowly settled in, inch by inch until his entire length was buried deep into her sex.

Hissing and closing his eyes, he throbbed inside of her and at that she did stir… well, actually not only did she stir but she mumbled something under her breath and tried to pull away from him.

She almost drew all the way out but grabbing her to him and preventing her from going anywhere, Daryl pushed into her once again and opened his eyes.

At the invasion, he could feel the woman's entire body tensing so he pressed his lips to the sensitive spot below her ear.

"It's just me." He mumbled, curling the palm of his hand over her hip.

Humming, she relaxed against him and she even pressed her ass even more to him. But that was the only thing she did and if it wasn't because he could feel how her breathing started to pick up a little bit, he would say that she just went back to sleep.

Feeling glad that she didn't push him off, he dragged his lips up; the tip of his tongue peeking out so he could draw an imaginary line to her jaw.

Without saying anything, he began to thrust into her, his rhythm painfully slow. He would push in, and then draw away until he was almost out; then he would go all the way in, and then back out. It was torturous, but he wanted to drag the moment and enjoy the feeling as long as he could.

"Daryl- not so slow." She hissed under her breath, her voice a raspy whisper that made him want her even more.

"You in a hurry?" His own voice came off raspy as well and he couldn't help but to think that she felt tighter like this, his erection strangling into her warm passage as his hand took back the task of touching her all over.

He touched her breasts, grabbing her flesh into his hand and weighing her in, then he circled her nipples with his thumb and dragged a hand down to her flat stomach, getting near to her pubic bone and then back to her ribcage and to her breast again.

In response, she threw her head against him and pushed her ass to him so he could go deeper into her. He took the opportunity to grab her leg up and picking up his rhythm, he buried his nose into the crook of her neck and breathed into her.

"Cuz I ain't got none." He said that in a low dark tone but wanting her to enjoy it, he lowered his hand to her heated groin and with his fingers he touched her there, finding her wet and inviting.

She moaned at the contact and he worked her nice, his fingers manipulating her clit as if he has done it a thousand times. Of course, he hadn't done that to her before and realizing that it was the first time he actually touched her so intimately, he groaned in satisfaction.

"I like that… don't stop." The words were a suffocated growl and he was sure that he could feel her entire body vibrating against him, it was something out of the ordinary and as a response, he slammed hard into her.

It just felt good to feel her reacting to him as if she was actually liking it and without planning on it, the nice and slow approach of earlier was forgotten.

So his rhythm picked up, and even if he wasn't fucking her as hard and fast as his body wanted, there was a sweet urgency to his ministrations that made his entire being go on overdrive.

Feeling his control slipping already, he closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. He didn't know what she was doing to him, all he knew was that he was slamming into her as if he wanted to send his cock all the way to her throat and she wasn't complaining, in fact her moans and short breaths was telling him that she liked it very much.

"Shit." Rosita said and tilting her face to him, she pressed her lips to his.

It was a bit tricky to kiss in that position but they managed, both their tongues searching each other so they could meet. And when she moaned gravely into his mouth and he felt her inner muscles tightening around his cock he knew she was a goner.

Kissing her hastily and pumping into her harder, he held her as she came, he could also feel his blood ringing in his ears and in a matter of nothing he groaned and with one hard thrust he exploded inside of her.

"Oh, fuck-" He mumbled against her lips as his hips darted forward, his erection throbbing and spilling his hot load into her while his fingers dug into the hollow of her waist.

Taking all he had to give, Rosita pushed hard against him and when there was nothing left in him, he groaned again and pulled out.

Breathless, satiated and with his mind everything but clear, the blue eyed man lay on his back and closed his eyes. The wild notion that this was something he could get easily used to settling in his brain.

Once the thought was there, he opened his eyes once again so he could take a look at the woman at his side. She was just there, hair carelessly everywhere, looking as satiated as he felt with her warm eyes languidly set on him, her cheeks flushed and her tongue peeking between her parted lips.

She looked dreamy and yes, she was something he could get used to as well if he wasn't careful.

"I need a bathroom." She said, eyeing him down in a way that he couldn't quite decipher.

He pointed to a door to the right and then he watched her go in there, admiring the sight of her naked body from behind. Once the door was closed he averted his eyes and stared to the ceiling.

Rosita… what the fuck was she doing to him? Maybe she didn't know it but she basically had him wrapped around her little finger and that was something that has never happened to him.

It was also something he didn't exactly need as it was dangerous. In a world were he had to stay focus or he could die, the last thing he needed was a distraction like her; no matter how nice she felt or how good her scent was to his senses.

For a few minutes he remained there, his mind running and his eyes glued to an undefined spot on the ceiling.

At least that was until she got out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel he didn't even know he had and picking her clothes from where they lay scattered on the floor.

From then on his eyes rested only her.

She wasn't saying anything and he wondered if this was the time she would finally walk out on him without looking back.

It could happen, but that she wasn't getting dress made him wonder if she was staying instead.

That thought right there made him sit down and reach for a cigarette from his nightstand. "You ain't planning on staying are you?"

"Seriously?" She asked as she turned to him while rolling her eyes. "Kicking me out already… that's not supposed to be nice, Daryl."

He shrugged, putting the cigarette to his lips and searching for something to light it up. "I ain't Mr. Nice guy." No, that was supposed to be Spencer. He didn't say it though.

Ignoring him, she walked to him and pulled the cigarette from his lips. She threw it over her shoulder and then kissed him.

And as he was destined to do, he immediately kissed her back. He even sighed when she rested her hands to his chest and angled her head so that he could deepen the kiss.

But could he have done other than that? He just wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

Breaths mingling, tongues melting against one another and her hand moving to the back of his head, he bit lightly on her bottom lip and she moaned softly.

It was in that moment that he knew that this was not going to be their last time… not if he had a say in the whole thing. And judging by the way she was kissing him back he also knew that she wanted the same thing.

It was something new for him, yeah, but with her in his arms it felt right. Fuck the consequences, fuck it all.

Even if it was once in his life he was going to go for what he wanted and if he ended up screwing it then fuck it too.

"I'm going to go, but just because I don't want Michonne to see me walking out of here in the morning. It will be weird. But I want to see you again, tonight." She whispered against his lips. "My place?"

Licking his lips and watching her, he nodded. "Alright."

Little did he know that next time they would see each other was going to be in the middle of a chaos, because before the sun would go down later on, all hell was going to break loose.


	10. Chapter 10

She should have known better than to think that day was actually going to be a good one.

That was the first thought to cross her mind as soon as she walked out her door and saw him sitting on her porch, apparently waiting for her.

"Where the hell were you?" His tone, too demanding for her taste made her roll her eyes as she breathed slowly in.

Yes, she should have known better.

After all it has always been like that for her, and since she could remember every single time she woke up feeling like things were going great, something would come up with to make her regret the thought.

She and her little sister even came up with a name for the whole thing on their teenage years, _la mala suerte_ , because the same way it affected her, it seemed to affect the whole Espinosa clan.

It has been an inside joke even when they firmly believed it was a curse, a childish superstition brewed inside their inner circle, but now as an adult she wondered if she was really cursed.

Take that day for instance, after sleeping pass noon and feeling more than refreshed, she has gotten out of bed with a genuine smile on her face. It was something she couldn't control because the first thing to cross her mind as soon as her eyes opened was Daryl and the night they had.

She knew it was silly for her to feel like that but like stated before, it wasn't something she could help, because as much as she didn't want to make a big deal out of it, the fact was that she got more than what she bargain for when it came to their time together.

Yes, she has hoped to get good results when she decided to pay him a visit the night before, and the results were more than satisfactory. He even agreed to see her that night again and considering his elusive nature that was a small victory for her.

He was probably doing it just for the sexual aspect of it, but if that was the only way she could get to him then so be it. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy it anyway, she actually liked it more than what she probably should.

So yes, he was the reason she woke up in a good mood, but it was when she walked to her window to take a look out that she totally jinxed it.

It has been an innocent observation she had when she saw the clear blue sky and the sun shining all over. _'It's going to be a good day.'_

And it wasn't like she thought of _la_ _mala_ _suerte_ when the opinion crossed her mind; no, the old myth of the curse only came back to her as soon as her eyes fell on Spencer as she stepped outside.

"Well?" He said, raising his hands and looking at her questioningly as if she actually owned him an explanation.

"Go home Spencer, don't make this go awkward." She said walking down the steps of her porch.

Following her, he snorted. "So that's it then, you going to be with Daryl fucking Dixon now?"

She didn't reply and just kept walking, her features displaying how annoyed she was getting.

"I saw you go to him last night so tell me, are you going to use him the same way you used me? And who would be next on your list, because that's what you are trying to do right, sleep with the entire male population of Alexandria?"

Twisting her lips and clenching her fists, she turned to him. "Listen to this very carefully because I won't repeat it; what I do and with whom I do it is not of your concern. So why don't you find a little dignity in your pathetic insignificant life and just leave me the hell alone."

She was fuming, not only because of what he said, but also because he was apparently following her and even questioning what she was doing.

It only added more fuel into her already sour mood when he didn't do as she said but just stood there as if thinking on a reply.

And to think she had thought the man was sweet

"Pathetic? That's funny because last I heard from you it was when you agreed to have dinner with me. I wasn't pathetic back then."

Rolling her eyes at the fact that he wasn't quitting, she lifted her hand and scratched the back of her head. "Seriously, just drop it."

"You are going to regret this, Rosita. You, Daryl… even Rick. All your group ever did when coming here was screw us over and I'm tired of it."

With that said, he turned his back to her and walked away.

Scoffing, she shook her head incredulously as she watched him leave.

"Well, you sure know how to pick them."

At the sound of the familiar voice she closed her eyes and shook her head. "You have to be kidding me." She mumbled to no one in particular.

Because really, if this wasn't a curse then she didn't know what it was.

"Seems to me you only just go for the assholes."

Pushing her upper teeth with the tip of her tongue she turned to him. He was resting against the wall of one of the houses, not quite far from her but not too near either, and as he stared at her she saw that he was smoking a cigar.

She has always hated those damn things. "Yeah, apparently."

With that said she made to walk away because this really was an encounter she didn't want to have. Not that day, not ever.

"So it was true then, first Spencer and now Daryl."

She laughed, not really believing this was happening to her. But because she wanted to make things clear with him once and for all, she walked to him and got close enough to smell the smoke of his cigar.

"I don't see how that concerns you."

"It doesn't. But somehow it does too."

She crossed her arms to her chest and blinked a couple of times, the smile on her face as fake as a three dollar bill. "So how's Sasha?"

He snorted. "I asked first, was it Spencer and then Daryl?"

"Fuck you Abraham." She said and with one of her infamous roll of her eyes she swirled on her feet to leave.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I would think you are trying so very hard to fill up my shoes."

Her lips curved into a smirk. "And if I didn't know any better I would say you weren't able to fill up mine." With that said she flipped him off and walked away.

Feeling better already now that she got the last word when it came to Abraham, she walked to the gate. She walked with a confident pace until she got there.

Her intention was to take over guard duty, after all she didn't have anything better to do and she has never been one to give into idleness.

It would keep her busy until nightfall which was a good thing, but what was even better, it would keep her from having any more weird encounters through her day.

She didn't want to talk to nobody else. With Spencer and Abraham was enough as they both drained her and annoyed her already.

The only person she didn't mind seeing was Daryl and since it was her the one that suggested they should met sometime during the night, she had to wait.

She didn't want to swamp him and really, that he agreed to see her after spending the night together was already more than what she had expected, and as Michonne told her, when it came to Daryl she needed to have patience.

So that was how she spent the next few hours. Monotonously waiting time to keep passing by and ignoring Eugene when he came by to say hi.

Now, that she ignored the man was half because she didn't want to be bothered and half because something in the distance caught her attention.

"Shut up, Eugene." She snapped from her place high on the gate as her former travel companion kept babbling about something that didn't really interest her.

Her eyes strained to see, but because it was still far she couldn't quite get what it was. She had to use the lens of her rifle to get a better look and when she saw what it was, she cussed.

"A truck is coming and it doesn't look like one of ours."

Always looking for a way out, Eugene quickly mumbled something about getting Rick and disappeared.

"It's not slowing down." She said to the man keeping the gate. She didn't know what was his name, only that it was one of the Alexandrians.

"It isn't?"

"Nope." In fact, it was approaching at great speed.

Keeping her watch through the lens, she heard Rick asking what was going on. He was probably with Michonne because she heard her ask the man at the gate something as well.

She didn't look though and didn't even reply, she was too concentrated and besides, the man was telling them already.

"Rosita, what's going on?" That was Rick. "I'm going up."

"It's going to crash against the gate." Once she came to that conclusion, she opened fire, trying to aim for the tires or maybe even the glass.

Soon after, Rick was with her and he opened fire as well.

"Shit." Their leader said when the truck kept coming. He barked some orders around and she could hear more people shooting as well, but she wasn't really paying attention.

Then, when the truck was near enough, whoever was on the passenger seat started to fire back as well.

It was the perfect opportunity because as he pushed his torso out the window, she managed to get a good shot to take him down.

It was all well, but before being hit he almost got the perfect shot at her as well. It just grazed her shoulder, but the impact made her loose her balance and she fell from the scaffold.

Now, the crash of hitting the ground knocked the wind out of her and for a few seconds that seemed to drag into an eternity, she wasn't able to breathe and she couldn't move.

The ability to breathe came first and she gasped, her eyes shutting and her back arching.

"Hey-"

She heard him and then she felt him, his hands were on her face and them to the back of her head and when she opened her eyes she saw concern in the blue of his eyes.

"I fell." She said stupidly and then snorted. Why she did that? She didn't know, but she felt slightly disoriented.

"Well no shit." He replied, lifting her off the ground and making her sit. "Can you stand?"

She nodded, but she made no attempt to. She just looked around to all the chaos that was unfolding.

The gate was busted open and half the fence was gone. There were some people she has never seen before firing at everything that moved and there were walkers too inside. She wondered how the hell did that happen.

"Daryl, I need you here!" The voice sounded like Rick's and turning her head to the man that was trying to get her to stand up, she blinked.

"Fuck off." Daryl shouted back and focused instead on Rosita.

"I'm okay." Once up she felt better, sore but nothing that was going to kill her. And when she checked her shoulder and corroborated that she was not shot even thought she was bleeding some, she nodded. "I'm okay. Where's my riffle?"

"You sure?" He asked and instead of replying with words she kissed his lips quickly.

"Yes." Her hand went to his cheek and he nodded. "Now go with Rick."

He seemed reluctant, but when she reached for the riffle and started to take down the walkers, he left to help Rick.

What happened next was something she unfortunately has lived many times before. People dying and screaming all around her no matter how fast she tried to prevent it.

It happened as if in slow motion and by the time she could see no more danger, the sound of many car horns started to come from outside.

As if in a dream she walked to where the gate used to be, taking relief in the fact that Daryl was there and apparently unhurt. Rick and Abraham were there as well and they were all looking at a man standing on top of a flatbed truck. The man, who has holding a bat that seemed wrapped in barb wire was smiling and she saw that Spencer was behind him.

Opening her mouth, she scoffed, her mind going back to when he told her she was going to regret it.

It was all she could think off and as the man introduced himself and presented his demands, which happened to be the surrender of Alexandria, Dwight, Sherry, a volunteer who he claimed was going to get killed as well as one who they were going to take with them, all she did was replay Spencer's words over and over like a broken disc in her head.

She wasn't aware of what was Rick's reply but whatever it was probably didn't please the man because soon after everything turned into a war zone again, only that this time the man Spencer has guided to their door was making Alexandria burn.

And through it all she just stood there. If it wasn't because Daryl grabbed her and made her get on his bike with him, she would have remained there and got herself killed in the crossfire.

She probably deserved that fate, because as Daryl sped off and she clung to him, all she could think was on how it was all her fault…

TBC

Short short chapter! Sorry about the mess, had to keep the story going.


End file.
